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Second Circuit rehears Arar rendition case

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral arguments Tuesday in an en banc rehearing of Arar v. Ashcroft. Canadian citizen Maher Arar is seeking a declaratory judgment against US government officials for having deported him to Syria in 2002, where he was tortured despite Syrian assurances that he would not be. In August, the court granted the request for a rehearing, after initially dismissing Arar's suit in July. Counsel for Arar argued that Arar was a victim of a high-level US conspiracy to subject him to torture. The government argued that the court should not decide the case, allowing Congress an opportunity to create legislation to deal with an unusual circumstance like Arar's. Arar was detained by the US in September 2002 after flying to New York from Tunisia on his way home to Canada. Arar has argued that he should be able to challenge the US government's policy of extraordinary rendition under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. In October 2007, US lawmakers apologized to Arar during a joint hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In January 2007, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to Arar on behalf of the Canadian government and announced a settlement of $10.5 million (CAD) compensation for pain and suffering in connection with its involvement in the deportation. Last Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that an Egyptian Christian who could face torture in Egypt could challenge his deportation from the US.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 10, 2008 (boomark / email).