After months of on and off negotiations, the federal government has reached a settlement with three Canadian men as compensation for the role Canadian officials played in their torture in Syria and Egypt.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland issued a statement Friday saying that with the settlement and an apology from government, the civil case involving Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin was now closed.
“On behalf of the government of Canada, we wish to apologize to Mr. Almalki, Mr. Abou-Elmaati and Mr. Nureddin, and their families, for any role Canadian officials may have played in relation to their detention and mistreatment abroad and any resulting harm,” the statement said.
The statement does not provide any details about the nature of the settlements reached, financial or otherwise.
The settlement averts a long and potentially embarrassing trial for the government that was set to begin late last month.
It comes 15 years and two federal inquiries after the detention and torture of the three men.
“Our clients are gratified to have received an apology from the highest level of the Canadian government,” Phil Tunley, a lawyer representing the three men, told CBC News in an emailed statement. “They and their families are pleased that their long legal ordeal is over.”
Ten years ago, they each filed $100-million lawsuits against the government but temporarily halted their legal proceedings to allow former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to conduct an internal inquiry. In his 2008 report, Iacobucci concluded that Canadian officials were indirectly responsible for their torture.
In 2009, the House of Commons called on the government to provide compensation and a formal apology to Almalki, Elmaati and Nureddin and to do everything necessary to correct misinformation about them that may exist in records administered by national security agencies in Canada or abroad.
The three men have been waiting until now.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/goodale-freeland-settlement-apology-1.4016572
