MICHELLE SHEPHARD
June. 4, 2005. 08:32 AM
OTTAWA—Did
Canada's spy service want to keep Maher Arar in a Syrian prison and delay
attempts to free him?
That's the explosive question now being asked at the federal inquiry probing Arar's case, with the release yesterday of a previously secret draft memo concerning the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
"CSIS has made it clear to the department that they would prefer to have him remain in Syria, rather than return to Canada. CSIS officials do not seem to understand that, guilty or innocent, Maher Arar has the right to consular assistance," states a portion of a June 24, 2003 foreign affairs department draft memo that was previously censored.
By that time, Arar, a 34-year-old Ottawa engineer had already spent nine months in a Syrian jail after being deported there by U.S. authorities as a suspected Al Qaeda terrorist. U.S. officials detained Arar on Sept. 26, 2002 in New York and held him for 12 days before flying him to Syria, via Jordan.
Wayne Easter, who was responsible during Arar's detention for both CSIS and the RCMP in his former position of solicitor general, testified yesterday he believed CSIS would not have thwarted efforts to get Arar returned.
"I believe CSIS wanted Mr. Arar to be brought back to Canada and be treated fairly," he said.
Easter's comments sparked an angry reaction from commission lead counsel Paul Cavalluzzo, who spent six minutes listing evidence entered at the inquiry concerning CSIS. He then asked: "In light of all of that evidence, do you still believe that CSIS used their best efforts to have Arar returned to Canada?"
Easter replied: "Yes I do."
Only when asked "how much trouble" it would have been for the security service to send a letter to Syrian authorities, stating they did not want Arar kept in a Damascus jail did Easter say it may have helped.
"I guess, looking back on the whole situation ... it could have been, maybe even should have been done," he said.
It has already been acknowledged at the inquiry that CSIS agents visited Syria a month after Arar was detained. Following their visit, Syrian authorities said they believed Canada did not want Arar sent back — a misconception that was not clarified until a letter from the prime minister was sent to the Syrian president in July 2003.
Foreign affairs officials have said the delay in sending a letter from the Canadian government was due to arguments over its wording between their department, CSIS and the RCMP.
Even though Easter was responsible for the security departments, he appeared yesterday to know little about their actions in the Arar case. He admitted not knowing CSIS agents travelled to Syria and that he only raised the case with his U.S. counterpart, then-attorney general John Ashcroft, a month after Arar returned to Canada.
Easter was also questioned extensively about a May 9, 2003 briefing note from CSIS advising him not to co-sign a letter to Syrian authorities.
"The U.S. government may also question Canada's motives and resolve, given that they had deported Arar to Syria because of concerns about alleged terrorist connections," the partially blacked-out briefing note states.
Easter said he disagreed with CSIS' advice on the letter.
"From my point of view, if a Canadian citizen is detained abroad and we want him back in Canada, then I quite honestly don't give a damn what the Americans think," he said.