punditman says...As if there isn't enough oppression these days, Punditman read this account in the Toronto Star the other day—of Benamar Benatta's forceable confinement without charge and his subsequent torture in the "good ole USA"—and Punditman felt outrage at the injustice of it all. Thanks to the illegal actions of Canadian government officials in the immediate aftermath of 9-11, this man lost five years of his life, not to mention the PTSD he now has. Where is the accountabilty? Where is the redress? Shame on Canada. Shame on Canadians. Here is his story.
by Benamar Benatta
I was the subject of an "extraordinary rendition" from Canada to the United States, where I was held for nearly five years and tortured as a terror suspect, even though I was innocent.
An extraordinary rendition is a transfer from one jurisdiction to another without lawful authority. When Canadian officials put me in the back of a car against my will and drove me over the border during the night of Sept. 12, 2001, and handed me to the Americans without legal authority, their actions fit with the definition of extraordinary rendition.
Today marks a bitter anniversary: three years in my struggle to get answers as to how and why the Government of Canada could have done this to me, in violation of domestic and international law.
