A happy ending for Maher Arar?

It will be recalled from yesterday's posting "Call to investigate torture and rendition" that the case of the Canadian, Maher Arar,was specifically referred to.

Today comes this news from the NY Times:

"Maher Arar, the Canadian software engineer who was detained by American officials in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was jailed and regularly tortured, will receive 11.5 million Canadian dollars ($9.75 million) in compensation from the Canadian government, under a settlement announced Friday.

The compensation ends a lawsuit brought by Mr. Arar and follows a recommendation from a judicial inquiry into his case. That inquiry said the expulsion to Syria was caused by false assertions made by the Canadian police to United States officials, saying that Mr. Arar was an Islamic extremist linked to Al Qaeda."

Is this what they call "your taxes at work?" The situation is no different in Australia where untold millions of dollars [not disclosed allegedly for reasons of confidentiality!] have been paid out to people wrongfully detained, or even in one case deported, by the Department of Immigration. Scandalous is the only word for it!

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