OTTAWA, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The Canadian government has reportedly agreed to pay compensation to a Syrian-born Canadian who was deported to his native country by the United States.
Maher Arar, who now lives in Kamloops, British Columbia, is to receive an apology, $10 million Canadian ($8.5 million U.S.) and payment of his legal fees, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was expected to make the announcement Friday afternoon.
Arar, an engineer, was arrested at Kennedy International Airport in New York in 2002 as he returned to his home in Ottawa from vacation. He was sent to Syria, where he spent a year in prison and was tortured.
Under the U.S. government's international rendition program, terrorism suspects have been sent to countries like Syria and Egypt where they could be subject to almost unrestrained interrogation. Arar had been seeking much higher damages from Canada for the government's part in the deportation.
