Maher Arar

Maher Arar, born in 1970, is a telecommunications engineer who holds dual citizenship in Syria and Canada. He has made Canada his home since 1987, where he has contributed to the field of engineering.

In September 2002, during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Arar was detained while returning to Canada from a family vacation in Tunis. He was held in solitary confinement for nearly two weeks without charges, subjected to intense questioning, and denied meaningful access to legal representation. The U.S. government suspected him of having ties to Al Qaeda and controversially deported him to Syria instead of Canada.

In Syria, Arar faced nearly a year of detention, during which he endured torture at the hands of Syrian authorities. A Canadian commission later confirmed his innocence, stating that he had no links to terrorism. Following his release, the Canadian government publicly cleared him of any wrongdoing and later settled with him out of court, awarding him ten million five hundred thousand Canadian dollars. Prime Minister Stephen Harper also issued a formal apology for Canada's involvement in his ordeal.

Arar's case is often cited as an example of extraordinary rendition, although the U.S. government maintained it was a case of deportation. He sought justice through the legal system by filing a lawsuit, Arar v. Ashcroft, in the Eastern District of New York, claiming that the actions of the U.S. government violated his constitutional, civil, and international human rights. However, his lawsuit was dismissed by the Federal District Court, and the dismissal was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in November 2009. The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the case in June 2010.