By Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. Follow Alex on Twitter @AlexNeveAmnesty
On Oct. 21, 2008, when I sat with Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin after the release of the report from the inquiry into their cases that had been conducted for two years by former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci, I was sure that they would soon see justice for what they had been through.
But the staggering and disgraceful truth is that nearly eight years later, these three men – all survivors of torture that Canadian officials made possible – seem further away from justice than ever. They have, in fact, perversely only been put through deepening injustice, this time through obstructive Canadian government tactics in our own legal system.
Their stories of injustice are the focus of a CBC documentary series, The Torture Files, airing this week. Renewed attention to these cases must become the spark that ensures that all three men receive the apology and the compensation that has been denied them for so many long years, but which is their basic right. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can make that happen.
Read the full op-ed here on the Ottawa Citizen website.
LEARN MORE > Amnesty’s Open Letter: Canada must withdraw Ministerial Direction on information sharing with foreign entities tainted by torture
TAKE ACTION > Collect signatures on our petition calling for redress in National Security cases including those of Almalki, Elmaati and Nureddin.
