A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| 'What I went through is beyond human imagination' |
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| deenb4dunya |
| 11/06/03 at 01:19:26 |
| Assalamu Alaikum, I don't know if you guys heard that Maher Arar, who was deported to Syria where he was tortured for ~ 9 hard months... deported by the states.. with no charge... has, walAhamdulillaah, returned home. He has begun to speak 2 days ago... here is one.. of many articles... _____________________________________________________ Arar recounts tale of torture Canadian wants public inquiry into Ottawa's role in his deportation, imprisonment and mistreatment OTTAWA -- Maher Arar tearfully called for a public inquiry yesterday into Canada's role in his deportation to Syria, where he said he was beaten, tortured and confined to a tiny cell where rats ran free. "A public inquiry is the only way we can know why this happened to me so I can clear my name and ensure this does not happen to anyone else," he told a news conference. "What I went through is just beyond human imagination." His eyes brimmed with tears at the memory of the nightmare that began during what was supposed to be a two-hour stopover in New York as he returned to Canada from a family vacation in Tunisia. He recalled begging U.S. authorities not to deport him to Syria because he knew he would be tortured. He remembered the flight in a small private plane to Jordan from New Jersey. He described being beaten in the back seat of a car in Jordan and again in Syria. And he spoke of what he called the "grave," the dark and dirty cell in Damascus that he shared with cats and rats, which seemed likely at the time to be his crypt. Mr. Arar said he was allowed to leave his cell only for torture sessions, during which he says he was beaten with thick electrical cables, and for visits from Canadian consular officials. Mr. Arar, 33, blamed the United States and Syria for his year-long ordeal. But he also wants to know whether his own government had anything to do with it. "I was kidnapped," he said. Mr. Arar, his lawyer, Lorne Waldman, and Amnesty International called for a federal public inquiry into whether the RCMP or any other Canadian agency was complicit in his deportation. The demand for a public inquiry was endorsed by the Commons foreign affairs committee. Several Liberals broke ranks and voted for the New Democrat motion. But Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said there is no need for a public inquiry because the RCMP Public Complaints Commission is looking into the case. Mr. Arar said the commission cannot get to the bottom of his case because it cannot look at what part the Department of Foreign Affairs or any other federal department might have played. Mr. Waldman said there is a "strong circumstantial case" that Canadian agencies conspired with their U.S. counterparts to have Mr. Arar tortured as part of an anti-terrorism investigation. William Sampson, the Canadian jailed for 31 months in Saudi Arabia, will travel to Canada tomorrow to tell a Commons committee the federal government is contributing to Canadians being tortured abroad. Sources told Canadian Press Mr. Sampson has decided to appear before the foreign-affairs committee to tell MPs, for the first time since his release in August from a Saudi jail, about his repeated beatings, isolation and imprisonment. The U.S. embassy in Ottawa declined comment on the Arar case, referring reporters to the U.S. Justice Department in Washington. The Justice Department press office did not return calls. The Syrian embassy also declined comment. Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham told the House he called Syrian Ambassador Ahmad Arnous yesterday afternoon to protest Mr. Arar's treatment and to ask for an accounting. Mr. Arar, who is receiving medical treatment and psychological counselling for posttraumatic stress, paused several times during the news conference to compose himself. He recalled in his statement how his family moved to Canada when he was 17 and how he met his wife, Monia Mazigh, while studying at McGill University. Ms. Mazigh sat beside her husband yesterday, clutching his hand and helping him find his place on the page of his written statement when the tears came. Mr. Arar, an Ottawa software engineer, was released by Syria after a year and reunited with his wife and their two small children four weeks ago. He has never been charged with anything in Canada, the U.S., Jordan or Syria. He is trying to clear his name. It now is 13 months since Mr. Arar was flown in chains to Jordan after a deportation hearing late at night at a Brooklyn, N.Y., detention centre. There had been no lawyer present and no Canadian diplomat. He had been arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport Sept. 26, 2002, while travelling on his Canadian passport. The Americans dumped Mr. Arar in Jordan for transit to Syria. He said the Jordanians beat him repeatedly as they drove him to the border. Then it was the Syrians' turn, he said. In his first few days in custody, Syrian military intelligence interrogators whipped him with the frayed end of a thick electric cable and forced him to sign false statements alleging links to terrorists. "They hit me with it everywhere on my body," he said. Mr. Arar described how American officials had sworn at him and insulted him when he was arrested. "They told me I had no right to a lawyer, because I was not an American citizen." These officials had information about him that was "so private" that it must have come from a Canadian source, he said. The Americans pulled out a copy of the Arar family's apartment rental agreement from Ottawa. It had been witnessed by Abdullah Almalki, another Canadian of Syrian origin in whom the Americans seemed to be interested. Mr. Arar said he knew Mr. Almalki only casually but had worked with the man's brother. There is no doubt, he said, that the Americans are singling out travellers with a Middle Eastern background at border points. He said he was held in Brooklyn for more than a week. He was allowed one 30-minute visit with a lawyer. A Canadian diplomat from the consulate in New York was also allowed to visit. Neither the consular official nor the lawyer was present for the 3 a.m. immigration hearing on Oct. 8. He said he was then hustled off to an airport in New Jersey where he was the only passenger. In Amman, he said, he was handed over to Jordanians who blindfolded him, put him in a car and drove him to the Syrian border. "Every time I tried to talk they beat me. . . . " In Syria, he was interrogated by a colonel from military intelligence. "I asked him what he wanted to hear. I was terrified, and I did not want to be tortured. I would say anything to avoid torture." After the first session he was taken to a cell. "It was like a grave. It had no light. It was three feet wide. It was six feet deep. It was seven feet high." He said he could hear cats and rats through a small opening in the ceiling: "From time to time the cats peed through the opening into the cell." He had two blankets, two dishes, a bottle of water and a bottle to urinate into at night. "I spent 10 months, and 10 days inside that grave." He said the beating started that first day and was very intense for a week. "That second and the third days were the worst. I could hear other prisoners being tortured, and screaming and screaming." He said he was whipped with a black electrical cable about a centimetre thick. "They hit me with it everywhere on my body. They mostly aimed for my palms, but sometimes missed and hit my wrists; they were sore and red for three weeks. They also struck me on my hips and lower back." He was so terrified that he falsely confessed to going to a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. Canadian diplomats were allowed to visit, but he found himself depressed after their departure. "I would bang my head and my fist on the wall in frustration." In December he suffered emotional breakdowns three times. "I just screamed and screamed." He was eventually transferred from the military prison to another facility, the Sednaya prison.It was there he saw another Canadian man of Syrian origin, Mr. Almalki, the man whose name appeared on Mr. Arar's lease agreement. "I am not a terrorist," Mr. Arar said. "I am not a member of al-Qaeda, and I do not know any one who belongs to this group." |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| a_lina |
| 11/06/03 at 03:51:20 |
| [slm] Here is the full text of Mr. Arar's statement. Really, no human being deserves to be treated this way. Text of the address by Maher Arar Globe and Mail Update I am here today to tell the people of Canada what has happened to me. There have been many allegations made about me in the media, all of them by people who refuse to be named or come forward. So before I tell you who I am and what happened to me, I will tell you who I am not. I am not a terrorist. I am not a member of Al Qaeda and I do not know any one who belongs to this group. All I know about Al Qaeda is what I have seen in the media. I have never been to Afghanistan. I have never been anywhere near Afghanistan and I do not have any desire to ever go to Afghanistan. Now, let me tell you who I am. I am a Syrian-born Canadian. I moved here with my parents when I was seventeen years old. I went to university and studied hard, and eventually obtained a Masters degree in telecommunications. I met my wife, Monia at McGill University. We fell in love and eventually married in 1994. I knew then that she was special, but I had no idea how special she would turn out to be. If it were not for her I believe I would still be in prison. We had our first child, a daughter named Barâa, in February,1997. She is six years old now. In December, 1997, we moved to Ottawa from Montreal. I took a job with a high tech firm, called The MathWorks, in Boston in 1999, and my job involved a lot of travel within the US. Then in 2001 I decided to come back to Ottawa to start my own consulting company. We had our second child, Houd, in February, 2002. He is twenty months old now. So this is who I am. I am a father and a husband. I am a telecommunications engineer and entrepreneur. I have never had trouble with the police, and have always been a good citizen. So I still cannot believe what has happened to me, and how my life and career have been destroyed. In September 2002, I was with my wife and children, and her family, vacationing in Tunis. I got an email from the MathWorks saying that they might need me soon to assess a potential consulting work for one of their customers. I said goodbye to my wife and family, and headed back home to prepare for work. I was using my air-miles to travel, and the best flight I could get went from Tunis, to Zurich, to New York, to Montreal. My flight arrived in New York at 2:00 p.m. on September 26th 2002. I had a few hours to wait until my connecting flight to Montreal. This is when my nightmare began. I was pulled aside at immigration and taken to another area. Two hours later some officials came and told me this was regular procedure they took my fingerprints and photographs. Then some police came and searched my bags and copied my Canadian passport. I was getting worried, and I asked what was going on, and they would not answer. I asked to make a phone call, and they would not let me. Then a team of people came and told me they wanted to ask me some questions. One man was from the FBI, and another was from the New York Police Department. I was scared and did not know what was going on. I told them I wanted a lawyer. They told me I had no right to a lawyer, because I was not an American citizen. They asked me where I worked and how much money I made. They swore at me, and insulted me. It was very humiliating. They wanted me to answer every question quickly. They were consulting a report while they were questioning me, and the information they had was so private I thought this must be from Canada. I told them everything I knew. They asked me about my travel in the United States. I told them about my work permits, and my business there. They asked about information on my computer and whether I was willing to share it. I welcomed the idea, but I don't know if they did. They asked me about different people, some I know, and most I do not. They asked me about Abdullah Almalki, and I told them I worked with his brother at high tech firms in Ottawa, and that the Almalki family had come from Syria about the same time as mine. I told them I did not know Abdullah well, but had seen him a few times and I described the times I could remember. I told them I had a casual relationship with him. They were so rude with me, yelling at me that I had a selective memory. Then they pulled out a copy of my rental lease from 1997. I could not believe they had this. I was completely shocked. They pointed out that Abdullah had signed the lease as a witness. I had completely forgotten that he had signed it for me when we moved to Ottawa in 1997, we needed someone to witness our lease, and I phoned Abdullah's brother, and he could not come, so he sent Abdullah. But they thought I was hiding this. I told them the truth. I had nothing to hide. I had never had problems in the United States before, and I could not believe what was happening to me. This interrogation continued until midnight. I was very, very worried, and asked for a lawyer again and again. They just ignored me. Then they put me in chains, on my wrists and ankles, and took me in a van to a place where many people were being held another building by the airport. They would not tell me what was happening. At 1 in the morning they put me in a room with metal benches in it. I could not sleep. I was very, very scared and disoriented. The next morning they started questioning me again. They asked me about what I think about Bin Laden, Palestine, Iraq. They also asked me about the mosques I pray in, my bank accounts, my email addresses, my relatives, about everything. This continued on and off for eight hours. Then a man from the INS came in and told me they wanted me to volunteer to go to Syria. I said no way. I said I wanted to go home to Canada or sent back to Switzerland. He said to me “you are a special interest”. They asked me to sign a form. They would not let me read it, but I just signed it. I was exhausted and confused and disoriented. I had not slept or eaten since I was in the plane. At about 6 in the evening they brought me some cold McDonalds meal to eat. This was the first food I had eaten since the last meal I had on the plane. At about eight o'clock they put all the shackles and chains back on, and put me in a van, and drove me to a prison. I later learned this was the Metropolitan Detention Centre. They would not tell me what was happening, or where I was going. They strip searched me. It was humiliating. They put me in an orange suit, and took me to a doctor, where they made me sign forms, and gave me a vaccination. I asked what it was, and they would not tell me. My arm was red for almost two weeks from that. They took me to a cell. I had never seen a prison before in my life, and I was terrified. I asked again for a phone call, and a lawyer. They just ignored me. They treated me differently than the other prisoners. They would not give me a toothbrush or toothpaste, or reading material. I did get a copy of the Koran about two days later. After five days, they let me make a phone call. I called Monia's mother, who was here in Ottawa, and told her I was scared they might send me to Syria, and asked her to help find me a lawyer. They would only let me talk for two minutes. On the seventh or eighth day they brought me a document, saying they had decided to deport me, and I had a choice of where to be deported. I wrote that I wanted to go to Canada. It asked if I had concerns about going to Canada. I wrote no, and signed it. The Canadian consul came on October 4, and I told her I was scared of being deported to Syria. She told me that would not happen. She told me that a lawyer was being arranged. I was very upset, and scared. I could barely talk. The next day, a lawyer came. She told me not to sign any document unless she was present. We could only talk for 30 minutes. She said she would try to help me. That was a Saturday. On Sunday night at about 9:00 p.m., the guards came to my cell and told me my lawyer was there to see me. I thought it was a strange time, and they took me into a room with seven or eight people in it. I asked where my lawyer was. They told me he had refused to come and started questioning me again. They said they wanted to know why I did not want to go back to Syria. I told them I would be tortured there. I told them I had not done my military service; I am a Sunni Muslim; my mother's cousin had been accused of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and was put in prison for nine years. They asked me to sign a document and I refused. I told them they could not send me to Syria I would be tortured. I asked again for a lawyer. At three in the morning they took me back to my cell. At 3 in the morning on Tuesday, October 8th, a prison guard woke me up and told me I was leaving. They took me to another room and stripped and searched me again. Then they again chained and shackled me. Then two officials took me inside a room and read me what they said was a decision by the INS Director. They told me that based on classified information that they could not reveal to me, I would be deported to Syria. I said again that I would be tortured there. Then they read part of the document where it explained that INS was not the body that deals with Geneva Convention regarding torture. Then they took me outside into a car and drove me to an airport in New Jersey. Then they put me on a small private jet. I was the only person on the plane with them. I was still chained and shackled. We flew first to Washington. A new team of people got on the plane and the others left. I overheard them talking on the phone, saying that Syria was refusing to take me directly, but Jordan would take me. Then we flew to Portland, to Rome, and then to Amman, Jordan. All the time I was on the plane I was thinking how to avoid being tortured. I was very scared. We landed in Amman at 3 in the morning local time on October 9th. They took me out of plane and there were six or seven Jordanian men waiting for us. They blindfolded and chained me, and put me in a van. They made me bend my head down in the back seat. Then, these men started beating me. Every time I tried to talk they beat me. For the first few minutes it was very intense. Thirty minutes later we arrived at a building where they took off my blindfold and asked routine questions, before taking me to a cell. It was around 4:30 in the morning on October 9. Later that day, they took my fingerprints, and blindfolded me and put me in a van. I asked where I was going, and they told me I was going back to Montreal. About forty-five minutes later, I was put into a different car. These men started beating me again. They made me keep my head down, and it was very uncomfortable, but every time I moved, they beat me again. Over an hour later we arrived at what I think was the border with Syria. I was put in another car and we drove for another three hours. Continued...... |
| 11/06/03 at 04:04:56 |
| a_lina |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| a_lina |
| 11/06/03 at 03:57:55 |
| I was taken into a building, where some guards went through my bags and took some chocolates I bought in Zurich. I asked one of the people where I was and he told me I was in the Palestine branch of the Syrian military intelligence. It was now about 6 in the evening on October 9. Three men came and took me into a room. I was very, very scared. They put me on a chair, and one of the men started asking me questions. I later learned this man was a colonel. He asked me about my brothers, and why we had left Syria. I answered all the questions. If I did not answer quickly enough, he would point to a metal chair in the corner and ask “Do you want me to use this?” I did not know then what that chair was for. I learned later it was used to torture people. I asked him what he wanted to hear. I was terrified, and I did not want to be tortured. I would say anything to avoid torture. This lasted for four hours. There was no violence, only threats this day. At about 1 in the morning, the guards came to take me to my cell downstairs. We went into the basement, and they opened a door, and I looked in. I could not believe what I saw. I asked how long I would be kept in this place. He did not answer, but put me in and closed the door. It was like a grave. It had no light. It was three feet wide. It was six feet deep. It was seven feet high. It had a metal door, with a small opening in the door, which did not let in light because there was a piece of metal on the outside for sliding things into the cell. I spent ten months, and ten days inside that grave. The next day I was taken upstairs again. The beating started that day and was very intense for a week, and then less intense for another week. That second and the third days were the worst. I could hear other prisoners being tortured, and screaming and screaming. Interrogations are carried out in different rooms. One tactic they use is to question prisoners for two hours, and then put them in a waiting room, so they can hear the others screaming, and then bring them back to continue the interrogation. The cable is a black electrical cable, about two inches thick. They hit me with it everywhere on my body. They mostly aimed for my palms, but sometimes missed and hit my wrists they were sore and red for three weeks. They also struck me on my hips, and lower back. Interrogators constantly threatened me with the metal chair, tire and electric shocks. The tire is used to restrain prisoners while they torture them with beating on the sole of their feet. I guess I was lucky, because they put me in the tire, but only as a threat. I was not beaten while in tire. They used the cable on the second and third day, and after that mostly beat me with their hands, hitting me in the stomach and on the back of my neck, and slapping me on the face. Where they hit me with the cables, my skin turned blue for two or three weeks, but there was no bleeding. At the end of the day they told me tomorrow would be worse. So I could not sleep. Then on the third day, the interrogation lasted about eighteen hours. They beat me from time to time and make me wait in the waiting room for one to two hours before resuming the interrogation. While in the waiting room I heard a lot of people screaming. They wanted me to say I went to Afghanistan. This was a surprise to me. They had not asked about this in the United States. They kept beating me so I had to falsely confess and told them I did go to Afghanistan. I was ready to confess to anything if it would stop the torture. They wanted me to say I went to a training camp. I was so scared I urinated on myself twice. The beating was less severe each of the following days. At the end of each day, they would always say, “Tomorrow will be harder for you.” So each night, I could not sleep – I did not sleep for the first four days, and slept no more than two hours a day for about two months. Most of time I was not taken back to my cell, but to the waiting room where I could hear all the prisoners being tortured and screaming. One time, I heard them banging a man's head repeatedly on a desk really hard. Around October 17th, the beatings subsided. Their next tactic was to take me in a room, blindfolded, and people would talk about me. I could hear them saying, “He knows lots of people who are terrorists”; “We will get their numbers”; “He is a liar”; “He has been out of the country for long.” Then they would say, “Let's be frank, let's be friends, tell us the truth,” and come around the desk, and slap me on the face. They played lots of mind games. The interrogation and beating ended three days before I had my first consular visit, on October 23. I was taken from my cell and my beard was shaved. I was taken to another building, and there was the colonel in the hallway with some other men and they all seemed very nervous and agitated. I did not know what was happening and they would not tell me. They never say what is happening. You never know what will happen next. I was told not to tell anything about the beating, then I was taken into a room for a ten minute meeting with the consul. The colonel was there, and three other Syrian officials including an interpreter. I cried a lot at that meeting. I could not say anything about the torture. I thought if I did, I would not get any more visits, or I might be beaten again. After that visit, about a month after I arrived, they called me up to sign and place my thumb print on a document about seven pages long. They would not let me read it, but I had to put my thumb print and signature on the bottom of each page. It was handwritten. Another document was about three pages long, with questions: Who are your friends? How long have you been out of the country? Last question was empty lines. They answered the questions with their own handwriting except for the last one where I was forced to write that I had been to Afghanistan. The consular visits were my lifeline, but I also found them very frustrating. There were seven consular visits, and one visit from members of parliament. After the visits I would bang my head and my fist on the wall in frustration. I needed the visits, but I could not say anything there. I got new clothes after the December 10th consular visit. Until then, I had been wearing the same clothes since being on the jet from the United States. On three different occasions in December I had a very hard time. Memories crowded my mind and I thought I was going to lose control, and I just screamed and screamed. I could not breathe well after, and felt very dizzy. I was not exposed to sunlight for six months. The only times I left the grave was for interrogation, and for the visits. Daily life in that place was hell. When I was detained in New York I weighed about 180 pounds. I think I lost about 40 pounds while I was at the Palestine Branch. On August 19 I was taken upstairs to see the investigator, and I was given a paper and asked to write what he dictated. If I protested, he kicked me. I was forced to write that I went to a training camp in Afghanistan. They made me sign and put my thumbprint on the last page. The same day I was transferred to a different place, which I learnt later was the Investigation Branch. I was placed there in a 12 feet by 20 feet collective cell. We were about 50 people in that place. The next day I was taken to the Sednaya prison. I was very lucky that I was not tortured when I arrived there. All the other prisoners were tortured when they arrived. Sednaya prison was like heaven for me. I could move around, and talk with other prisoners. I could buy food to eat and I gained a lot of weight there. I was only beaten once there. On around September 19 or 20, I heard the other prisoners saying that another Canadian had arrived there. I looked up, and saw a man, but I did not recognize him. His head was shaved, and he was very, very thin and pale. He was very weak. When I looked closer, I recognized him. It was Abdullah Almalki. He told me he had also been at the Palestine Branch, and that he had also been in a grave like I had been except he had been in it longer. He told me he had been severely tortured with the tire, and the cable. He was also hanged upside down. He was tortured much worse than me. He had also been tortured when he was brought to Sednaya, so that was only two weeks before. I do not know why they have Abdullah there. What I can say for sure is that no human deserves to be treated the way he was, and I hope that Canada does all they can to help him. On September 28 I was taken out and blindfolded and put in what felt like a bus and taken back to the Palestine Branch. They would not tell me what was happening, and I was scared I was going back to the grave. Instead, I was put in one of the waiting rooms where they torture people. I could hear the prisoners being tortured, and screaming, again. The same day I was called in to an office to answer more questions, about what I would say if I came back to Canada. They did not tell me I would be released. I was put back in the waiting room, and I was kept there for one week, listening to all the prisoners screaming. It was awful. On Sunday, October 5th I was taken out and into a car and driven to a court. I was put in a room with a prosecutor. I asked for a lawyer and he said I did not need one. I asked what was going on and he read from my confession. I tried to argue I was beaten and did not go to Afghanistan, but he did not listen. He did not tell me what I was charged with, but told me to stamp my fingerprint and sign on a document he would not let me see. Then he said I would be released. Then I was taken back to the Palestine Branch where I met the head of the Syrian Military Intelligence and officials from the Canadian embassy. And then I was released. I want to conclude by thanking all of the people who worked for my release, especially my wife Monia, and human rights groups, and all the people who wrote letters, and all the members of parliament who stood up for justice. Of course I thank all of the journalists for covering my story. The past year has been a nightmare, and I have spent the past few weeks at home trying to learn how to live with what happened to me. I know that the only way I will ever be able to move on in my life and have a future is if I can find out why this happened to me. I want to know why this happened to me. I believe the only way I can ever know why this happened is to have all the truth come out in a public inquiry. My priority right now is to clear my name, get to the bottom of the case and make sure this does not happen to any other Canadian citizens in the future. I believe the best way to go about achieving this goal is to put pressure on the government to call for a public inquiry. What is at stake here is the future of our country, the interests of Canadian citizens, and most importantly Canada's international reputation for being a leader in human rights where citizens from different ethnic groups are treated no different than other Canadians. Thank you for your patience. |
| 11/06/03 at 04:01:47 |
| a_lina |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| timbuktu |
| 11/06/03 at 05:46:49 |
| [slm] The US government does NOT have the right to deport any one anywhere it choses. A Canadian could only be deported to Canada, or to another country if the deportee & that country agree. This case must be pursued to the limit. Canadian citizens should write to their members of Parliament. i found the link to the first article. it is: http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031105/UARARN05//?query=Arar+recounts+tale+of+torture but please give me the link to the "Full text of Arar's Statement" to all the americans on this board, please send emails to your congressman & senators about this violation of human rights, & torture farming. Please can you ppl help me. I think i read more cases of illegal kidnappings, & torture farming by the US. i want as many links to these as possible. I am going to start a campaign to get americans to speak against it. i have difficulty in searches, so i would really appreciate it. I think i have a core group of americans on IOL, who although conservative, support freedom & human rights. |
| 11/07/03 at 03:49:09 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| Caraj |
| 11/06/03 at 14:07:18 |
| When I read this last night I was disgusted and near tears. HOW COULD ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN? This poor man and his family. :'( THIS DOES NEED to be pursured to the limit and the people involved in this matter be brought to justice (if there is such a thing anymore :( ) Timbuktu let us know how things go on your end with this. I will send a copy of the news articals to all on my list and ask them to send it to their lists asking everyone to contact our congressmen and senators. If he is a Canadian citizen why was he not returned to Canada? Is the Canadian government going to do anything about this? I so love my country but I am tired of us being the bully on the block. No wonder folks hate us so much. It's like we are trying to be the boss of the world :'( What happened to this man is totally disgusting (and even that does not discribe how I feel about it. |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| jannah |
| 11/06/03 at 15:59:28 |
| [slm] U know at times I wonder how anyone can not believe in an afterlife where true justice will be obtained. How can u just believe that these people from the evil policy-makers down to the prison guard with the switch will just end up going to dust without any accountability. Sometimes I'm even glad Hell exists for some people surely deserve it. And Heaven exists for surely some people deserve it. |
| 11/06/03 at 16:00:03 |
| jannah |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| a_lina |
| 11/06/03 at 21:21:01 |
| [slm] Here is the link to the full text of Maher Arar's statement. It is in two parts. http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031104.wtext1104/BNStory/National/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031104.wtext1104B/BNStory/National/ [slm] |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| timbuktu |
| 11/06/03 at 22:13:41 |
| [slm] thanks, sister azizah & iman, & all others, so far, i have one promise of research & writing to congressman & senators on IOL, but i will continue to press them. If necessary, i will visit them on their own site, & ask them. but on this site, too, americans & canadians please speak what you are going to do. at least do what sis azizah is doing, & please tell us that you are going to do it. It will encourage others to act. & for others. here are email addresses of US embassies around the world: http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/usa.htm so the rest of us can protest to US embassy. write to your local newspapers as well. farming out torture has gone far enough. It must be stopped. |
| 11/07/03 at 11:59:24 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: 'What I went through is beyond human imaginati |
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| humble_muslim |
| 11/07/03 at 00:12:20 |
| AA Look folks, let's get one thing in pespective. The bastards who actually tortured this poor guy were muslims. Yet we are so slow to condemn them, and so quick to condemn the "minor" players in this i.e the US and Canada. Yes, they are to blame for sure, and their behaviour is unexcusable. But the fact that the tortue was actually carried out by muslims in Jordan and Syria is another level above that. Whether we like it or not, the biggest opressors and tyrants in the world are the ones in our countries. And the bl****y irony about this is that muslims in thier masses are leaving the muslim countries to escape from this tyranny and and going where ... to the grand old USA! Look at the fact that the Canadian Commons forigen affairs committee are endorsing the calls for a public inquiry. What about a public inquiry in either Jordan or Syria about how a MUSLIM was so disgustingly ill-treated!!!! Somehow I have a feeling we ain't gonna be seeing that for a long time. Why are we so keen to contact our senators and congressmen about this, but not the Jordanian or Syrian embassies? Why don't we call them non-stop and read them the ayats in the Quran about the end of the opressors? What's wrong with us? What a crazy world we live in! We are want to get out of our countries to come to the USA, but paradoxically object when the USA wants to get rid of the despots who are the main reason we want to get out in the first place! Any outsider must think we are completely nuts! Our own countries are a huge damn mess, and until we realise that we need to badly get our own houses in order first, we will get nowhere. And finally, I pray that Allah SWT and his angels send a strong curse to all the opressors, torturers, depsots and tyrants in this world, no matter who or where they are, Ameen. |
| NS |
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| timbuktu |
| 11/07/03 at 00:36:00 |
| [quote author=The humble muslim link=board=ummah;num=1068095966;start=0#8 date=11/07/03 at 00:12:20] .......we are so slow to condemn them, and so quick to condemn the "minor" players in this i.e the US and Canada[/quote] are they minor players? do you know how many muslims have been killed over & over again & jailed & ruined in Syria, Iraq, & other muslim countries, for objecting to the policies of these governments. who has trained these oppressers, who brings them to power, who has given them weapons, who supplied them with the material to build & decorate their palaces? we have risen over & over again against these tyrants, but the super-tyrants have always protected them. Now we are holding these super-tyrants to account for their own nationals, in their own countries, under their own laws. surely, we have a right to do that. it is practicing muslims who have always protested against the oppression, & have been cruelly suppressed. we have never ever supported these tyrants. we do object to bombing of our civilians, our infrastructure, occupation of our lands. We object to these inhuman acts done to earn fat profits. We did not protest the removal of Saddam, but we see a sinister game of Zionist expansion, which we want to resist. |
| NS |
| 11/07/03 at 02:27:58 |
| timbuktu |
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| humble_muslim |
| 11/07/03 at 02:02:31 |
| AA Timbuktu, I didn't mean to criticize you for your efforts, and if it sounded like that, I apologize. But I stand by what I say. Here is an interesting and well known story. Hajjaj bin Yusuf was one of the most famous tyrants of history. "The Tyrant" was his title and a title well earned, as everytime he entered a city he made hills from the heads of the people he killed. Once Hajjaj conquered a city and summoned a group of prominent citizens, asking them, "Am I an oppressor or a just ruler?" Naturally those people were quaking with fear, and humbly addressed him: "Oh our Amir, you are very just. " He shouted angrily: "They are liars, take them out of my sight and behead them!" Then Hajjaj called in another contingent of prominent citizens and asked them the same question, but as they understood what had happened to the previous group they said: "How can you be called just when you kill the very people who declare you to be just? Surely you are a tyrant!" "Liars, all of them! They lie too! Executioner, take them away and behead them too!" And so it continued throughout the day: a group was called, and answered, "You are just" and was killed; then another group who answered, "There has never been a tyrant the likes of you," was killed as well. Gradually all of the prominent citizens of the town were slaughtered, except for a group of religious scholars who Hajjaj was intending to question last. As they were walking towards their dreaded meeting with Hajjaj, an ecstatic madman of God came up to them and asked them where they were going. "Go away", they answered, "We have no time to talk to you now." "Tell me where you're going," he insisted, "to a banquet? I am going with you!" And so he sauntered from side to side of the group, bothering them and pushing himself upon them. Finally, one very old shaykh said to him: "Oh my son, leave us, we are going to a slaughterhouse." "Oh let me come too! After slaughtering there should be a feast with plenty of meat!" "As you like," said the old shaykh. Then the madman took a stick and went out in front of the group of scholars like the leader of a marching band. In this manner they arrived at the court of Hajjaj. Hajjaj was sitting like a frowning statue when the bizarre madman entered with the scholars. Hajjaj was taken aback by the appearance of the madman and a little afraid, as his clothes were weird and his turban was awry. The madman shouted: "Hey, Hajjaj!" The hearts of the scholars fell, and they thought: "My God! No one has ever dared address Hajjaj like this! How did we end up being led here by this madman who is bound to make Hajjaj even angrier. Perhaps he will not just kill us now, but flay us alive!" The madman continued: "I am the commander of this group of scholars. Don't tire yourself by asking them questions one by one, just ask me what you will. If you are pleased with my answers, fine and well, and if you are not, take them off and slaughter them." Then Hajjaj said to the madman: "Alright, I accept. I will ask you my questions and you will answer for them. Am I an oppressor or a just ruler?" "God forbid that you are an oppressor or a just ruler! You are the ruler sent upon us in accordance with our own attributes. You are a punishment, the curse of God, upon these people. We are the real oppressors, not you." Then Hajjaj applauded, saying "All you have said is true. This is the answer I have been waiting for. All day long I have been listening to lies. They called me an oppressor, but no, it is they who are liars, and when the others called me just they were even more shameless. Yes, I am Allah's punishment for their actions. Now I have my answer, you may all go free." |
| NS |
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| Maliha |
| 11/07/03 at 08:22:39 |
| [slm] mmm..bro Humble Muslim where did you get this excerpt? I have the book "scholar and tyrant" and i don't remember this scene.... as far as the mess we are in...we have to fight on all fronts...you can't say we ourselves are oppressors, so lets just sit back and wait around while others are feasting off our corpses..and at the same time we can't turn a blind eye to the madnesses in our own homes. its actually really depressing when you think that there is very few Muslims that even pray 5 times a day..we are talking basics here. really really basic things. May Allah help us all. [wlm] |
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| lucid9 |
| 11/07/03 at 10:37:43 |
| [slm] everybody should read Zainab Al-Ghazali's "Return of the Pharoh" to understand how arab governments torture their citizens. She was tortured by Nasser in the 60's there is a reason why hell was created, and why hell is everlasting, and why hell is not equivalent to just a bunch of pinpricks -- and involves gruesome burning in the fire....and that reason is -- it was created for such sadistic, henious, devilish people. there can be no adequate punishment for them in this life: only eternal punishment in the next will do. may god either guide them or curse them all.... |
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| humble_muslim |
| 11/07/03 at 12:38:41 |
| AA Maliha, I agree with what you say. But the question to me is why was I the first person to reply to the post, almost 24 hours after it was first posted, to criticize the part played in this by "our" people? It's as though that the problems we have in our own countries are just a secondary issue, and we think that the USA is the cause of ALL our problems. Torture is not confined to the arab world, it happens in Pakistan. Allah help anyone, male or female, young or old, who ever goes into a police station in Pakistan for "questioning". And yet there is this whole silence in the muslim world about it, even though the Prophet (SAW) said " the most excellent jihad is to speak the truth in front of a tyrant". A couple of years ago Amnesty International did a report on Saudia Arabia which included, amongst other items, an item about the imprisonment of one of the Sheikhs who was locked up at the start of the firsy gulf war for protesting the American involvment (Salman Al Audah, I think). Why did it take a non-muslim organization to bring this issue in the open? When I spoke about this to a very salafi friend of mine, his reponse was that we should not praise the non-muslims for doing something the muslims should be doing!!! Let's face it, we are just ostriches with our heads in the sand when it comes to opression in our own countries. And yet the Prophet (SAW) said : "He who helps an opressor, knowing him to be an oppressor, has left the relgion of Muhammed(SAW)". And BTW, I'm counting myself, first and foremost, as the most blameworthy person in this. May Allah give me, and all of us, the courage and wisdom to do the right thing. |
| NS |
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| a_lina |
| 11/07/03 at 21:38:20 |
| [slm] I agree with bro. humble muslim. The actual cause of fall of Muslims is our own deteriorating morals. The is a Hadith that goes something like Allah does not change the condition of a race/group unless they change from within. (have I got that right?) Infact, the first question raised among my family right after we heard Mr. Arar's statement was, why did the Syrians torture him? What was their interest in all this? Those of us who migrated to the West for "greener pastures" are very well aware of what goes on in our own countries. To escape we came to US/Canada/Europe only to find that the reason that tyranny consistently exists in our countries is because of the protection and encouragement of these "super powers". Where do we run to now? How do we escape? Its time we stop running away and start fighting "on all fronts" as Sis. Maliha wrote. [slm] |
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| timbuktu |
| 11/08/03 at 11:20:09 |
| [slm] let us not forget the other prisoners in our prayers. i give you two links. one is of Abdullah, 21 now, held prisoner without cause since age 14, in Hosni Mubarak's Egypt, darling of the West. http://islamonline.net/English/Views/2003/11/article03.shtml the other is of Guantanamo prisoners. http://www.cagedprisoners.com/ there are many, who are unaccounted for. One is Dr Aafia, of Pakistani origin, arrested & held incommunicado in Pakistan, for about a year, supposedly with the FBI. please remember them all in your prayers. |
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| tincanman |
| 11/08/03 at 12:49:03 |
| Humble, in your first post you mentioned “minor players”, hmmm. It is the Arab rulers who are the minor players. They are just the dogs the Americans set on us. When a thug sets his dog on a person, very few people say it is due to the violence mentality of dogs. The dog just does what his master wants him to do. The people who work in the prisons have not been recruited from the Musjids. To get in to the high ranks of the Syrian army you have to be a Nusayri and a Homosexual. And was it the people of Syria who choose their leaders, or was it an CIA backed coup done to install an American trained Airforce officer as president? Your last comment seemed really strange? America does not remove despots for our benefit. They were the ones who installed the despots in the first place! No one objects to what the rulers do against us, they call it counter terrorism and help the rulers in doing it. Remember, America gave that man to the Syrians. The only reason America wants certain despots removed is they are not despotic enough. The Syrian and Iraqi dogs outlived their usefulness (so America wants them put down) because they are Anti Israel. Who is the worse depot we have now? Karimov of Uzbeckistan, and he is loved by America and armed by America and helped by America in raping and exterminating any one who dares love Islam in the Land of Imam Bukahri. America does not feel the need to bring Democracy there for some reason? Humble you mentioned how Amnesty international mentioned what’s happening to us in Saudi. They weren’t the only ones to say it. It was mentioned by many Muslims, but for some reason no one likes listening to Muslims. When we criticize the rulers, we are fundamentalist, extremists who should fix ourselves before we criticize the rulers. But when the Kaffar say it, every one listens and quotes. Why? I agree Muslims can change what is happening to us. But it needs actions. And the actions it needs is removing the rulers. These people will never leave office until they leave life. So the actions that are necessary are clear. |
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| Caraj |
| 11/08/03 at 13:51:03 |
| tincanman, may I ask that you say American government not Americans please. When you said the dogs Americans set on us, well I am an American, it is my government not me. Thank you, Many thoughts run through my head, will try to express them logically. If the US deported him to a country he was not a citizen of then in my opinion they are NOT A MINOR PLAYER. I am French/Dutch and English decent with some Native Amer so if I tick off my governement or they get a wild hair where will they deport me to? If the Canadian government did not BARK LOUD then they are also NOT A MINOR PLAYER. From what I read in this, for a moment think of it as a baseball game. The US was the pitcher, Canada the catcher and Jordan/Syria the outfield. The US hit the ball, Canada fumbled and did not catch it and the outfield Syria caught it. Well to me folks a pitcher and a catcher are pretty major players. And it takes some really sick minded warped people to carry out tortures as the people in Jordan and Syria did. From what I read all were major players. Unless there are some proven major charges what business does my country have shipping a man back to a country where he is not a citizen and has not been for many years? You all can blame who you want and point fingers but all need to be called to the rug for this. Even bank robber and murder accomplist get charge too not just the major player. This whole thing sickens me, why is it not all over the news, cnn, radio and such, who is making a big enough stink for all to know about? |
| 11/08/03 at 13:53:15 |
| Caraj |
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| ltcorpest2 |
| 11/08/03 at 15:19:30 |
| tincan, is that really true about syrian officers? and what is a nusayri? and you are absolutely right, america does not remove despots for your benefit. Why should it? America removes despots for its own benefit. That is generally the way politics is. I am not talking of how I would like it to be, but just about how real world politics works. that is why I choose to be a somewhat of a libertarian. Keep the government toa minimum. |
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| Caraj |
| 11/09/03 at 10:06:22 |
| [quote author=mike aka ltcorpest2 link=board=ummah;num=1068095966;start=10#18 date=11/08/03 at 15:19:30]tincan, is that really true about syrian officers? and what is a nusayri? and you are absolutely right, america does not remove despots for your benefit. Why should it? America removes despots for its own benefit. That is generally the way politics is. I am not talking of how I would like it to be, but just about how real world politics works. that is why I choose to be a somewhat of a libertarian. Keep the government toa minimum.[/quote] Mike if you have time can you explain more of what a libertarian is either in here or by private message. I don't mean to sound so ignorant, I have a general idea but would like more detail as I to am of the mine set of keeping the government to a limit. Unfortunatly I think poeple have allowed them to already go to far in many many ways, not just talking war stuff but other ways :( Thank you |
| 11/09/03 at 10:07:28 |
| Caraj |
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| Fozia |
| 11/09/03 at 11:08:53 |
| [quote author=iman link=board=ummah;num=1068095966;start=10#14 date=11/07/03 at 21:38:20] Infact, the first question raised among my family right after we heard Mr. Arar's statement was, why did the Syrians torture him? What was their interest in all this? [/quote] [slm] Exactly, and isn't Syria like part of 'the axis of evil' and next target on the agenda for the war on Islam?? Wassalaam |
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| timbuktu |
| 11/09/03 at 11:26:32 |
| [slm] good question: why did Syria torture him? [u]1st[/u]: they hoped to pacify the US of A that they have reformed, & are not harboring terrorists (read fundamentalist muslims), by carrying torture on behalf of the US [u]2nd[/u]: The nusayri, alawi clique has always persecuted the Sunnis, particularly from the Aleppo region, where uprisings & slaughter have taken place in the past (in one uprising, 20,000 civilians were killed by the Syrian government). probably this is the reason his parents migrated, & why he did not want to go back to Syria [u]3rd[/u]: they probably hoped to get information on other sunnis of the region, so they could crack down on them [u]4th[/u]: mr al-maliki is reported to be with them as well. so if they had managed to establish a link between arar & al-maliki, the americans would havel forgiven some of Syria's "sins". remember Musharaf's about-turn bought him a reprieve. wallahu `aalam |
| 11/09/03 at 11:32:53 |
| timbuktu |
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| tincanman |
| 11/09/03 at 12:35:38 |
| “is that really true about syrian officers?” In Muslim countries, non Islamic governments use means to make sure the people who are in the high ranks of the army are not the kinds of people who desire to remove/execute them. In Turkey they expel any officer who has been seen praying or whose female relatives have been seen covering themselves. They also test officers to see if they hold a wine glass correctly etc. In Syria they use Homosexuality for the same purpose. Syria is currently ruled by the Nusayri, they dominate the high ranks of the army and the Government. They make up about 10% of the Syrian population and are concentrated near the coast. The Nusayri are a religion that broke away from Islam. There was a sect called the Bataniya, which had an allegorical way of interpreting the Islamic texts. One day during Ramadan the leader of the sect made an announcement to his people. He said the laws of Islam last until the Day of Judgment. Today is judgment day so I am liberating you from the laws of Islam. And they all broke their fast with wine because the laws of fasting and Alcohol no longer applied. The Nusayri sided with the Non Muslims in the Crusades and against the Mongols, until the Mongols attacked their main fort and killed most of them. “ america does not remove despots for your benefit. Why should it? America removes despots for its own benefit.” True and this is why they have removed many democracies and currently support many of the worst despots. This is done for benefit, but not the benefit of the American people. when nations are invaded and people killed, the profits from such enterprises seem to only land in the coffers of the companies that donated heavily towards the election campaigns of the ruling party. The reason why I said it was many people do not understand this. So they beg the American rulers. It’s time for people to stop begging any one but Allah and take their futures in to their own hands by doing the acts that are necessary. |
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| amatullah |
| 11/13/03 at 17:19:27 |
| Washingon Post Ex-Detainee Details Fearful Path to Syria Torture Followed Handover By American 'Removal' Unit By DeNeen L. Brown Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, November 12, 2003; Page A14 OTTAWA, Nov. 11 -- On the luxury jet that flew Maher Arar from the United States to the Middle East, where he was certain he would be tortured, members of a U.S. "special removal team" put him in shackles, served him dinner and asked whether he minded if they watched a movie. "They put me in the back and made me watch a CIA movie," Arar said Tuesday in an interview here. But Arar, a dual citizen of Canada and Syria, who was arrested in New York last year and deported on accusations he was a terrorist, remembered that he was not interested in the movie. "At that time," Arar recalled, "I was thinking of what would happen once I arrived in Syria and how am I to avoid torture." Arar, 33, spent 10 months in a Syrian prison, where he said he was beaten with an electric cable, forced to sign confessions that he had been to Afghanistan and kept in a cell he called a grave. U.S. officials have said that Arar, who was arrested on Sept. 26, 2002, was seized as part of a secret procedure known as "rendition," in which terrorism suspects are turned over to foreign countries known to torture people in their custody. Arar was released from the Syrian prison and flown back to Canada last month. At a news conference last week, he described his torture and maintained his innocence of any involvement in terrorist activity. The Center for Constitutional Rights in New York on Tuesday asked Congress and Attorney General John D. Ashcroft to conduct a criminal investigation into the role of intelligence agencies in the torture of Arar, who was never charged. The organization also demanded that Ashcroft investigate "whether U.S. officials condoned and aided torture." "This is a legal and moral outrage," said Michael Ratner, the center's president. "Not only does the treatment of Maher Arar and the practice of rendition violate the Convention Against Torture, but it is antithetical to the basic values of our democracy." Arar, who was born in Syria, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport while traveling on his Canadian passport and making a connection en route to Montreal. Arar said officials asked him about his work for a U.S.-based computer company, confiscated his Palm Pilot and asked him about his relatives. He said the officers did not identify themselves, but they had badges showing they were from the FBI and the New York Police Department. They asked Arar about his connection to Abdullah Almalki, another Canadian Syrian, who was arrested in Syria in May 2002. He told them he knew Almalki casually. In the interrogation room, they ignored his pleas for an attorney, Arar said. "Then they put me in chains, on my wrists and ankles, like you see the Guantanamo detainees in." The next morning, the U.S. officials questioned him for eight hours about Osama bin Laden, the Palestinians and Iraq, and asked about mosques where he had worshiped. Eventually, a U.S. immigration agent entered the room and told Arar he wanted him to volunteer to go to Syria. "I said no way," Arar said. "I wanted to go home. He said you are a special interest. They asked me to sign a form. They would not let me read it, but I just signed it. I was exhausted and confused." He was then driven in a van to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, where he was strip-searched and given an injection, which officials did not identify. Arar was given a document that accused him of being a member of al Qaeda. After a 3 a.m. hearing, he said, he was chained and driven in an armored truck to an airport in New Jersey, where he was placed on a small jet. Arar said he was flown first to Washington, which he determined from a video display showing the location of the plane. The plane spent an hour on the ground in Washington before a "special removal unit," a term he overheard, came on board. "They did not introduce themselves," he said. "They did not have badges." Arar overheard phone conversations. "They said Syria was refusing to take me directly and I would have to fly to Jordan." The plane flew first to Portland, Maine, then to Rome and finally to Amman, the Jordanian capital. During the flight, Arar said, he talked with an agent who identified himself as "Khoury," and who said his grandfather had moved to the United States from Syria. "He was in charge. He was an old man in his fifties. Khoury appeared sympathetic. He told them to take off the shackles and chains." Arar told the man he was afraid of being tortured. "The man told me, 'Why don't you talk to the Jordanians? They might be able to keep you in Jordan.' In his eyes he felt sorry. But he was in the special removal unit. His job was to hand over people." When the plane landed in Jordan, Arar said, the U.S. authorities returned his passport, his hand luggage and laptop computer. He said six or seven Jordanians were waiting for him. He did not hear any conversations between the Americans and the Jordanians. He was placed in a van parked a few feet from the plane. "Just right away, after they handed me over, they put me in the van, they started beating me," Arar said. He said he was blindfolded and remembers hearing Arabic music playing in the van. Ten hours later, he arrived at the Syrian border. "I know because the accent changed," Arar said. He said he was taken to the Palestine branch of the Syrian military intelligence. Over the next months, Arar said, he was tortured, and spent six months in the small cell that he described as a grave. "I thought when I went in the grave I would stay one or two days. I realized that was my home. I had moments I wanted to kill myself. I was like a dead person." |
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