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/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/2009/03/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