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/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/2009/12/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/2009/06/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/2009/04/im-betting-obrian-had-it-right/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/04/im-betting-obrian-had-it-right/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:00:22 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=311 http://kerrypither.com/2009/04/im-betting-obrian-had-it-right/feed/ 0 http://kerrypither.com/2009/04/public-safety-minister-must-issue-directive-prohibiting-the-use-of-information-obtained-under-torture/ http://kerrypither.com/2009/04/public-safety-minister-must-issue-directive-prohibiting-the-use-of-information-obtained-under-torture/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:42:48 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=308 http://kerrypither.com/2009/04/public-safety-minister-must-issue-directive-prohibiting-the-use-of-information-obtained-under-torture/feed/ 1 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/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/2008/10/toronto-star-on-the-spin-and-reality-of-the-iacobucci-report/ http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/toronto-star-on-the-spin-and-reality-of-the-iacobucci-report/#comments Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:24:14 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=144 Toronto Star's Haroon Siddiqui has written a column today about how the headlines don't match up with the reality of what's in the Iacobucci Inquiry's report. Siddiqui has nice things to say about my book, Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror too. "It is a compelling – and, as it turns out, accurate – account of the horrors they [the men] endured," he says. ]]> http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/toronto-star-on-the-spin-and-reality-of-the-iacobucci-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 http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/no-wonder-they-wanted-the-inquiry-kept-secret/ http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/no-wonder-they-wanted-the-inquiry-kept-secret/#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:59:42 +0000 kerry http://kerrypither.com/?p=132 http://kerrypither.com/2008/10/no-wonder-they-wanted-the-inquiry-kept-secret/feed/ 1