3 more Canadians alleging torture seek Arar-style inquiry

Three Canadian men of Middle Eastern origin who say they were imprisoned and tortured in Syria are demanding an independent inquiry into their allegations.

The three — Muayyed Nureddin, Abdullah Almalki and Ahmad El Maati — told a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday that the federal government must follow the recommendations of Justice Dennis O'Connor, who investigated the case of Maher Arar.

Arar was arrested by U.S. authorities in September of 2002 and taken to Syria where he was interrogated and tortured for nearly a year.

O'Connor said Canadian officials had shared faulty information about Arar with the United States and Syria, and recommended that all such allegations be probed by an independent investigator.

Almalki — like Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen — told reporters that while spending22 months in Syrian custody,their officials told him Canada had supplied information suggesting he was a terrorist.

"It was interrogation and torture by proxy," he said, "I was imprisoned at the behest of the Canadian government."

Even though he is now free and back home in Canada, Almalki said, his family lives in constant fear that he might be re-arrested or kidnapped.

"Someone has to clear our names," he said.

Amnesty International is supporting the men's demands.