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CAIR-CAN news bulletin – November 21, 2005
CAIR-CAN calls on Canadian government
to ban CIA "rendition" jets
Ottawa, Canada – November 21, 2005: The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) is demanding the federal government ban CIA "rendition" jets from entering Canada to ensure Canada is never complicit in torture.
According to news reports, a private jet belonging to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) may have landed in St. John's, Newfoundland as recently as last Friday. According to Ottawa Citizen, records show a privately owned airplane that has been linked to an alleged CIA front flew from Newfoundland to the United States on Friday, raising new questions about Canada's role in the fight against terrorism.
In September 2002, a similar CIA jet was allegedly used to transport Maher Arar, a Canadian Muslim, from the U.S. to Jordan. Arar was then driven to Syria for torture and a year-long imprisonment. He has since become one of the most widely publicized victims of "extraordinary rendition," the practice of sending detainees to countries that torture their prisoners.
In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN said:
"One Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, has already suffered a horrific experience as result of the "extraordinary rendition" process. The Canadian government must uphold its obligations under international law to ensure that Canada is never complicit in torture by participating in extraordinary renditions or allowing Canada to be used to ferry any individual to torture.
"CAIR-CAN calls on the Canadian government to ban the CIA "rendition" jets from landing anywhere in Canada, and to investigate whether Canada was ever used to transport detainees to torture."
According to news reports, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy and Denmark have all launched investigations into whether the CIA used airports in their countries to transport detainees to torture.
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