Factsheet: Maher Arar and Extraordinary Rendition

In 2002, Canadian citizen Maher Arar was detained at JFK airport on his way home from visiting family. He was repeatedly denied the right to contact his family or a lawyer, interrogated by U.S. officials about alleged links to al-Qaeda, and sent against his will to Syria, a country renowned for torture. There Mr. Arar was interrogated, tortured and held in a grave-like underground cell for most of his year-long detention. He was released in October, 2003. Neither the U.S., nor any other country, has ever charged him with a crime.