On December 9, 2008, demand action by the U.S. government when Maher Arar's attorneys return to the U.S. Court of Appeals seeking justice for his rendition to torture.
While the black cloud of George W. Bush is finally lifting, the crimes perpetuated by his administration will not be undone or erased in January. Join us to hold high levels of the Bush administration-former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, and FBI Director Robert Mueller, as well as numerous U.S. immigration officials-accountable for the torture and rendition of Maher Arar.
Join us in New York City:
1. BEFORE DECEMBER 9th: Make media and build public pressure in support of Maher Arar and other victims of extraordinary rendition. Write a letter to your local paper about Maher Arar and why you think it is important that the court hear his case. Plus, help spread about the rally using these fliers.www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3977
www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/Maher%20Arar%20flier%20for%20local%20actions.doc2. DECEMBER 9th: RALLY OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE: 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM, Foley Square. There will be a rally and procession to the courthouse at Foley Square for victims of extraordinary rendition and torture. You can join the rally at Worth & Centre Streets (near the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall, 4,5,6 and R,W subway trains).
Join us in solidarity elsewhere:
1. BEFORE DECEMBER 9th: Make media and build public pressure in support of Maher Arar and other victims of extraordinary rendition. Write a letter to your local paper about Maher Arar and why you think it is important that the court hear his case.www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3977
2. DECEMBER 9th: RALLY AT YOUR LOCAL FEDERAL COURT: Organize a rally outside your local federal courthouse demanding that the court allow Maher Arar's case to move forward. Click here for materials to help you coordinate your event.www.unitedforpeace.org/downloads/Maher%20Arar%20flier%20for%20local%20actions.doc
In 2002, Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, was detained at JFK airport on his way home from a family trip. He was interrogated, prevented from having assistance from a lawyer, and sent against his will to Syria, a country renowned for torture. He was interrogated, tortured and held in a grave-like cell for over ten months in Syria. No country, including the U.S., has ever charged him with any crime. But the Bush administration continues to keep Maher Arar on a watch list, has refused to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate U.S. officials who sent Mr. Arar to Syria, and is actively seeking to deny Mr. Arar justice in U.S. courts.
U.S. courts have given in to the U.S. officials' efforts to prevent justice from being served by refusing to determine whether it was unconstitutional to send Mr. Arar to Syria to be tortured and arbitrarily detained. In 2006, a federal judge dismissed Mr. Arar's claims, not on the merits, but because of national security and foreign policy concerns. In June of this year, a three judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided 2-1 that Mr. Arar's case could not proceed, on largely the same grounds. The dissenting judge found that this decision gives federal officials the license to "violate constitutional rights with virtual impunity."
Rather than upholding the rule of law, the Constitution, and human rights, the courts have instead deferred to the Bush Administration, giving it unchecked authority where it claims national security and foreign policy concerns are at stake.
But in an extremely rare occurrence, the full Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided to rehear Maher Arar's case on December 9, 2008. This time around, we need to make sure that the court knows that United States officials do not have license to ship people off to other countries to be tortured or disappeared. We need to make sure the court knows that there must be accountability for torture, and that measures taken in the name of national security must comply with the law.
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