Stockwoods partner Phil Tunley was quoted in a web article by Terry Mielewski posted on CBC.ca on June 1, 2012, commenting on a Report by the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT), released that day. The CAT report considered whether Canada is complying with the UN Convention Against Torture.
The CAT is an independent expert panel, established by the UN membership to monitor and comment on State Party compliance with the Convention Against Torture. Its recent Report is critical of Canada on a number of issues. Notably, at para. 16 of the Report, the Committee reports on the cases of Ahmad Elmaati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin, three Canadian citizens detained and tortured in Syria and Egypt after 9/11. The Committee finds that “Canadian officials were complicit in the violation of their rights”. The Report also suggests that Canada’s continuing “refusal to offer an official apology and compensation” to these three citizens, as in the case of Maher Arar, is a continuing violation of their rights under the Convention by Canada.
Stockwoods represents Elmaati, Almalki and Nureddin in their respective civil actions against Canada for their damages suffered as a result of these events.
To read the CBC article, click here. The same story was later picked up by Canadian Press and the Globe & Mail.