OTTAWA (CP) - Lawyers for a Canadian who was deported to Syria by American authorities in 2002 say they will formally file a law suit against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in New York on Thursday.
Maher Arar, a 33-year-old computer engineer who lives in Ottawa, will participate by telephone in a New York news conference announcing the filing. The American Centre for Constitutional Rights, which announced last year that it would oversee Arar's suit, said the legal papers will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the eastern district of New York.
The centre would not comment on the details of the suit before the news conference.
Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian, was detained by American authorities in New York in the fall of 2002 while on his way home from a visit to Tunisia. Because he holds dual citizenship, he was deported to Syria, where he says he was tortured before being released without explanation last October.
The Americans said he was an al-Qaida terrorist suspect, although he has never been charged with a crime in any country.
