Arar previously filed suit against Syria and Jordan. Jordanian officials allegedly beat Arar before turning him over to Syria.

On Wednesday night, the CBS-TV newsmagazine 60 Minutes II reported that Canadian authorities were told of Washington's intent to deport Arar to Syria and that the Canadians approved. 60 Minutes, citing anonymous American justice sources, did not specify which Canadian agency or department was notified and approved.

In December, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Foreign Minister Bill Graham that both the RCMP and CSIS provided information on Arar to American authorities. CSIS had previously denied any involvement. But Graham said at the time that Canada was not informed or consulted about the Americian decision to deport Arar to Syria. "They made the decision to do that entirely on their own,"' Graham said, adding that he accepted Powell's assurances that the deportation decision was made by U.S. officials alone.

We have been covering this case since Mr. Arar was seized in October, 2002. All of our coverage is accessible here. Damn Foreigner has been providing excellent, thorough coverage as well.

The truth must come out. Why was Maher Arar deported to Syria? We support these lawsuits and Mr. Arar.