http://kerrypither.com author • advocate • commentator Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:04:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://kerrypither.com/2009/12/art-installation-depicting-syrian-detention-conditions-unveiled-in-ottawa-torture-survivors-still-seek-justice/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/12/art-installation-depicting-syrian-detention-conditions-unveiled-in-ottawa-torture-survivors-still-seek-justice/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:08:20 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=477 here. Ottawa — Three Canadian torture survivors were at a news conference in Ottawa today to unveil an art installation depicting some of the suffering they endured in a Syrian military intelligence detention centre. Created by Ottawa artist Jenn Farr and builder Erik Windfeld, “El Abbar” (the grave) is a life-size replica of one of the underground, tiny, dark cells at the now infamous Far’ Falastin (Palestine Branch) Syrian detention centre. Ahmad El Maati was locked into one of these cells for two and a half months before being sent to Egypt. Abdullah Almalki survived one year, three months and twenty-five days in the tiny space. Beside him, Maher Arar was locked up for ten months and ten days. Muayyed Nureddin was locked into an over-crowded “common” cell down the hall. El Maati, Almalki and Nureddin said they hope the installation will help Canadians, and the government, better understand the horrors of torture. “I think it is very difficult for anyone to truly comprehend the conditions I was kept in – the loss of control over every aspect of my life, the filth, the smell, the constant sounds of people being tortured, the constant fear that I would be next and the feeling of being buried alive,” said Almalki. “I hope this will at least get people thinking, and better understanding, the horrors of torture.”]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/12/art-installation-depicting-syrian-detention-conditions-unveiled-in-ottawa-torture-survivors-still-seek-justice/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/12/majority-vote-in-parliament-calls-for-an-official-apology-and-compensation-for-el-maati-almalki-and-nurredin/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/12/majority-vote-in-parliament-calls-for-an-official-apology-and-compensation-for-el-maati-almalki-and-nurredin/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:07:41 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=458 here (December 3, 2009, HoC Sitting # 123, beginning at 10:00 a.m.). The report, tabled on June 18, 2009 and debated in the House of Commons today, came out of a study of findings by the Iacobucci Inquiry and findings and recommendations of the Arar Inquiry. (The Iacobucci Inquiry determined that the actions of Canadian officials, such as providing questions and information to Syrian and Egyptian interrogators, likely contributed to the torture of El Maati, Almalki and Nureddin.) In addition to an apology and compensation, the committee report calls on the government correct misinformation shared about the men with foreign agencies – information containing allegations which retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci determined were variously inaccurate, inflammatory, and without evidentiary basis.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/12/majority-vote-in-parliament-calls-for-an-official-apology-and-compensation-for-el-maati-almalki-and-nurredin/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/10/government-still-stalling-on-watchdog-for-national-security-investigations/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/10/government-still-stalling-on-watchdog-for-national-security-investigations/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:08:39 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=428 government's response to the Commons Public Safety Committee report, which called for implementation of all of the Arar Inquiry's recommendations without delay. The government's response was tabled last week on the one-year anniversary of the release of former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci's report, which determined that Canadian agencies had contributed to the torture of Ahmad El Maati Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin by sharing unsubstantiated allegations about them with Syrian, Egyptian, U.S. and other agencies. The government says it can't act now to correct the record because of ongoing litigation — another excuse that has no credibility. Read more in my op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen today.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/10/government-still-stalling-on-watchdog-for-national-security-investigations/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/06/the-quest-for-answers-begins-abousfian-abdelrazik-is-coming-home-but-theres-still-no-system-in-place-to-ensure-his-ordeal-is-not-repeated-yet-again/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/06/the-quest-for-answers-begins-abousfian-abdelrazik-is-coming-home-but-theres-still-no-system-in-place-to-ensure-his-ordeal-is-not-repeated-yet-again/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:36:36 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=372 op-ed in today's Ottawa Citizen, I ask if anything has changed since Maher Arar, Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin came home and demanded answers about Canada’s role in their torture. ]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/06/the-quest-for-answers-begins-abousfian-abdelrazik-is-coming-home-but-theres-still-no-system-in-place-to-ensure-his-ordeal-is-not-repeated-yet-again/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/05/why-the-government-wont-let-abousfian-abdelrazik-come-home/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/05/why-the-government-wont-let-abousfian-abdelrazik-come-home/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 11:14:20 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=340 http://kerrypither.com/2009/05/why-the-government-wont-let-abousfian-abdelrazik-come-home/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/2008/10/cutting-through-the-spin-the-shameful-truth/ http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/cutting-through-the-spin-the-shameful-truth/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:41:43 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=138 op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen today.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/cutting-through-the-spin-the-shameful-truth/feed/ 0