Biography
Maher Arar is a Syrian-born Canadian telecommunications engineer and survivor of the United States’ extraordinary rendition program. U.S. officials detained him at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on September 26, 2002 while he was traveling home to Canada. After twelve days in American custody, he was sent through Jordan to Syria, where he was tortured and imprisoned. He was released on October 5, 2003. He was never charged with a crime in the United States, Canada or Syria. A Canadian public inquiry found no evidence that he had committed an offense or posed a security threat. He later became a human-rights advocate.
CCR’s 2010 report describes Arar’s 2002 JFK detention, rendition to Syria and subsequent damages claim; the Supreme Court declined review in 2010. This later litigation does not create another custody episode or modify the independently sourced detention endpoints. Center for Constitutional Rights Annual Report2010, original PDF page 11. Source: https://ccrjustice.org/files/CCR_Annual_Report_2010.pdf#page=11
