A federal appeals court has ruled that a Syrian-born Canadian man who was wrongly identified as a terrorist whilst changing planes in New York before being sent to Syria does not have grounds to sue the U.S.
Software engineer Maher Arar was changing planes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in 2002 when he was detained by the U.S. authorities because of alleged links to al-Qaeda.
The
Associated Press reports that Mr Arar's detention came about as a result of a tip-off from the authorities in Canada.
Following his arrest, Mr Arar was deported to Syria where he has claimed he was imprisoned for a year in a small underground cell and subjected to torture. It is also alleged that Mr Arar was only allowed to see a lawyer on one occasion throughout his ordeal.
Syria, a country with a less-than-impressive record when it comes to human rights, has denied any torture took place.
After a lower court rejected his attempt to sue the U.S. government and senior officials in the Justice Department for a violation of his civil liberties, Mr Arar took the matter to an appeal court.
On Monday, however, judges sitting in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit voted 7-4 to uphold the decision of the lower court.
The judges said that allowing Mr Arar's suit to proceed would "offend the separation of powers and inhibit this country's foreign policy."
The judges ruled Congress must first pass legislation that sets out how a case such as the one involving Mr Arar should be dealt with.
Reuters says Congress would have to decide the appropriate "legal protection and redress."
Furthermore, the ruling said "Once Congress has performed this task, then the courts in a proper case will be able to review the statute and provide judicial oversight."
Mr Arar, whose lawsuit was originally filed in 2004, responded by saying the appeal court's decision was evidence "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."
Two of the dissenting judges have spoken of their disappointment with the decision of their colleagues; Judge Guido Calabresi said history will view the ruling of the court with dismay and Judge Barrington D. Parker suggested the ruling "distorts the system of checks and balances essential to the rule of law, and it trivializes the judiciary's role in these arenas".
Mr Arar, a resident of Ottawa, is being represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights. Maria LaHood, a senior staff attorney at the center, has indicated an appeal to the Supreme Court may now follow. Ms LaHood maintains the court has a duty to uphold the law and the alleged torture of Mr Arar was a clear transgression of the law which should be dealt with accordingly.
The Canadian government has already apologized to Mr Arar for providing U.S. authorities with erroneous information. In addition to the apology Mr Arar received a settlement of $10.5 million CDN ($9.8 million USD) from Canadian authorities in 2007.
Mr Arar's removal to Syria highlights again the controversy surrounding "
extraordinary rendition," the practice of transferring suspected terrorists to a third country where they will be interrogated, quite possibly tortured, and imprisoned. Whilst in the third country the suspects may actually find themselves in facilities run by the U.S. Intelligence gathering is the main object of "extraordinary rendition."
