U.S. re-examines Canadian's rendition

WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is re-examining the rendition of a Canadian terror suspect to Syria where he alleged he was tortured in 2002.

DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner said in a 52-page report released Thursday new evidence had emerged that U.S. immigration officials may have broken laws when Maher Arar was detained in New York while traveling from Switzerland to Montreal, the Canwest News Service reported from Washington.

While the Canadian government has acknowledged it supplied faulty information to the United States, apologized to Arar and paid him $10 million compensation, Skinner questioned the Immigration and Naturalization Service's decision to allow the rendition flight to Syria for questioning about links to al-Qaida, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"The INS concluded that Arar was entitled to protection from torture and that returning him to Syria would more likely than not result in his torture," Skinner's report said.

Congressional members including Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., called Thursday for a special prosecutor to lead the criminal investigation, the Times said. Nadler is chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on constitution, civil rights and civil liberties.