Maher Arar said his innocence has been confirmed by the formal apology Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued to him on Friday."This means the world to me," Arar said during a one-hour press conference in Ottawa on Friday afternoon.
Earlier Friday, Harper apologized and offered a $10.5 million compensation package to Arar and his family, along with money for legal fees, for the "terrible ordeal" they suffered after Arar spent nearly a year in a Syrian jail.
"On behalf of the government of Canada, I wish to apologize to you…and your family for any role Canadian officials may have played in the terrible ordeal that all of you experienced in 2002 and 2003," Harper said.
"I sincerely hope that these words and actions will assist you and your family in your efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives," he said.
I'm pretty proud of Canada for owning up to this and being accountable. And I am even happier to see that HUGE smile on Maher's face!! Is it not HUGE? Perhaps they can piece their lives back together again now that his name has been officially cleared and the government has assumed their share of the blame for his arrest and subsequent incarceration/torture. Of course, despite that fact, the United States still refuses to take him off their terrorist watch list.... But I seriously doubt that Maher Arar would ever want to set foot in this country again. And who can blame him.
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