http://kerrypither.com author • advocate • commentator Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:41:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 http://kerrypither.com/2009/11/u-s-denies-arars-right-to-sue/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/11/u-s-denies-arars-right-to-sue/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:23:55 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=445 "Unfortunately, this recent decision and decisions taken on other similar cases, prove that the court system in the United States has become more or less a tool that the executive branch can easily manipulate through unfounded allegations and fear mongering....If anything, this decision is a loss to all Americans and to the rule of law." The full text of Arar's statement is available here. The full text of the decision is available in pdf format here. Here are some interesting snippets from the dissenting judges:]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/11/u-s-denies-arars-right-to-sue/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/robert-fisk-on-accountability-for-complicity-in-torture/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/robert-fisk-on-accountability-for-complicity-in-torture/#comments Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:20:24 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=288 Independent's Robert Fisk was in Ottawa a few weeks ago and spoke with Canadian torture survivor Abdullah Almalki, one of the men whose stories I tell in my book. Fisk writes about Almalki's case in his column, published today, and raises the all-important issue of accountability. "I want to know why those complicit in Almalki's torture – the letter writers, the composers of questions – cannot be tried in court," he writes. "They are, at the least, accomplices to human rights abuses." Good point. Especially since they aren't just not being held accountable — they're being promoted. Just this week we learned that the RCMP's Michel Cabana, the man who was in charge of the RCMP investigation that targeted Ahmad El Maati, Almalki, Maher Arar and Muayyed Nureddin, has been promoted to an Assistant Commissioner of the RCMP (Federal and International Operations, Border Integrity Section).
]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/robert-fisk-on-accountability-for-complicity-in-torture/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/public-safety-committee-to-hear-testimony-on-the-iacobucci-inquirys-report/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/public-safety-committee-to-hear-testimony-on-the-iacobucci-inquirys-report/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:21:54 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=266 Iacobucci Inquiry, and the recommendations of the Arar Inquiry. These hearings are crucial. We've heard nothing from the government since the report's release in October last year: The report confirmed that Canadian agencies did contribute to the detention of Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin, and to their torture and the torture of Abdullah Almalki (by, for example, supplying the questions to those interrogating and torturing them). No-one in government has apologized to the men. There's no sign that any Canadian official has been held accountable for their actions. And the Conservative government is still ignoring the Arar Inquiry's recommendation, made more than two years ago, for effective and integrated civilian oversight of the agencies that carry out national security investigations. And without that oversight mechanism in place, it isn't clear how Canadians can be confident that many of the Arar Inquiry's other recommendations have been implemented. ]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/public-safety-committee-to-hear-testimony-on-the-iacobucci-inquirys-report/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/02/report-by-international-commission-of-jurists-releases-damning-report-on-global-counter-terrorism-measures/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/02/report-by-international-commission-of-jurists-releases-damning-report-on-global-counter-terrorism-measures/#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:58:19 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=250 "Assessing Damage, Urging Action" cites the Maher Arar case as "an example of how transnational intelligence should not be happening." The report calls for the rejection of the “war on terror” paradigm and for a full repudiation of the policies grounded in it and emphasizes that criminal justice systems, not secret intelligence, should be at the heart of the legal response to terrorism.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/02/report-by-international-commission-of-jurists-releases-damning-report-on-global-counter-terrorism-measures/feed/ 0