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/2010/06/found-archived-arar-inquiry-website/ http://kerrypither.com/2010/06/found-archived-arar-inquiry-website/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:41:20 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=577 here.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2010/06/found-archived-arar-inquiry-website/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2010/06/c-38-falls-short-on-rcmp-oversight/ http://kerrypither.com/2010/06/c-38-falls-short-on-rcmp-oversight/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:22:45 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=572 Globe and Mail editorial points out, the new Royal Canadian Mounted Police Review and Complaints Commission created by Act C-38 falls far short of what Arar Inquiry Commissioner Dennis O'Connor recommended back in December 2006. Note to readers: I am looking into why the Arar Commission's web site seems to be no longer available on the National Archives site. In the meantime, click here for a pdf of the Arar Commission's report and recommendations on oversight.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2010/06/c-38-falls-short-on-rcmp-oversight/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2010/02/iacobucci-inquiry-reveals-new-ways-that-csis-contributed-to-the-torture-of-canadian-ahmad-el-maati-in-egypt/ http://kerrypither.com/2010/02/iacobucci-inquiry-reveals-new-ways-that-csis-contributed-to-the-torture-of-canadian-ahmad-el-maati-in-egypt/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:15:12 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=542 newly released information says that in June 2002, CSIS agents sent a message to Egyptian authorities trying to confirm that El Maati was in detention there, and telling them, among other things not disclosed, that he was involved in a plan to commit a terrorist act in Canada. Justice Iacobucci has already confirmed that that this allegation was not based on evidence, but on an alleged “confession” obtained earlier from Syrian authorities – a “confession” that Iacobucci says CSIS should have known was likely the product of torture.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2010/02/iacobucci-inquiry-reveals-new-ways-that-csis-contributed-to-the-torture-of-canadian-ahmad-el-maati-in-egypt/feed/ 0 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/2009/06/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/2009/03/csis-rcmp-to-testify-before-public-safety-committee-march-31/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/csis-rcmp-to-testify-before-public-safety-committee-march-31/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:37:37 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=305 here.]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/csis-rcmp-to-testify-before-public-safety-committee-march-31/feed/ 1 http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/public-safety-committee-hearings-this-tuesday/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/public-safety-committee-hearings-this-tuesday/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:27:50 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=300 Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security this Tuesday, March 24, along with other advocates who want the government to implement all of the Arar Inquiry's recommendations, including Justice O'Connor's model for effective civilian oversight of the RCMP, CSIS and the numerous other agencies that participate in national security investigations. We'll also be urging the committee to press the government to do as it did for Maher Arar, and issue a formal apology to Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin for Canada's role in their torture. I'll be joined by Amnesty International's secretary general Alex Neve; former solicitor general Warren Allmand representing the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group; Shirley Heafey, former chair and CEO of the RCMP's Public Complaints Commission representing the BC Civil Liberties Association; and James Kafieh, counsel for the Canadian Arab Federation, the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations and the Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association. The hearings are open to the public, and will be taking place from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in room 269 of the West Block on Parliament Hill. The meeting can be watched on line — it will be webcast live here.

]]> http://kerrypither.com/2009/03/public-safety-committee-hearings-this-tuesday/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/arar-inquiry-website-moved/ http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/arar-inquiry-website-moved/#comments Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:11:37 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=37 Library and Archives site. ]]> http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/arar-inquiry-website-moved/feed/ 0