Benatta Coalition for a Public Review

Benamar Benatta is a 33 year old Algerian citizen who trained as an aeronautical engineer. He is the youngest of ten children. Benatta came to North America to flee political persecution and threats to his life while serving in the Algerian Armed Forces. On September 5, 2001 Benatta crossed the border into Canada and claimed political asylum. His biggest fear was being returned to Algeria where he was certain to be tortured or killed for deserting the military, an entity that endangered his life because he refused to take part in brutalizing civilians.

If there is any doubt of the brutal conditions of Algeria, acquaint yourself with, for example, the underground room at the Blida caserne called the katellah (the “killing room”). Other victims include Algerian soldiers believed to have been tortured and slaughtered by their own military.

Canadian authorities put Mr. Benatta into immigration detention while they tried to ascertain his identity.

While in Canadian custody and unbeknown to Mr. Benatta, terrorists attacked the World Trade Centre in New York City and other targets on September 11, 2001. Canadian officials alerted U.S. officials to the presence of Mr. Benatta, presumably because he is a Muslim man who knows something about airplanes (even though he does not know how to fly them). Without a hearing, without counsel and without conducting proceedings in his first language (French), Mr. Benatta was unceremoniously driven over the border in the back of a car by Canadian officials and handed over to U.S. officials on September 12, 2001. This was an illegal transfer. This action by Canadian officials initiated the beginning of a long nightmare for Mr. Benatta.

Click the play button below to watch the Benatta report on Canada’s CBC News with Paul Hunter.

Mr. Benatta was held in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York, where he was treated as a suspect in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. They wrote “WTC” on the door of his cell. He was beaten. He was abused. He was held in conditions that the United Nations described as torture. He was forgotten.

Mr. Benatta was actually cleared of any terrorist activity by the FBI in November 2001; however, he was never even told that he was cleared—because he was being held incommunicado and did not have access to a lawyer.

Mr. Benatta, an innocent man, spent nearly five years of his life in American prisons in conditions that could be described as torture as found by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in an Opinion adopted in 2004. Mr. Benatta also suffered serious abuse at the hands of his prison guards which is documented by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Canadian Government, various agencies and government officials all bear some measure of responsibility for Mr. Benatta’s ordeal.

Despite being cleared after two months of any connection to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Benamar Benatta was held in detention in the United states for five years—under conditions that were described by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as torture.

U.S. Federal Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr., after examining Benatta’s case, concluded that not only was Benatta “undeniably deprived of his liberty” in what he furthermore called a “sham”, but that the explanations offered for the sham “bordered on ridiculousness”.

Benatta arrived in Fort Erie on Sept. 5 of 2001 and requested political asylum. He was then held in detention awaiting a scheduled immigration review.

That review never happened.

Instead, on the day after 9/11, Canadian officials drove him across the border and handed him over to U.S. authorities. They, in turn, transferred him to a jail in Brooklyn, one later criticized by the U.S. justice department for its abuse of prisoners.

Photos: Detention centers where Benatta was held in the United States.

Schroeder found “damning evidence” that INS lawyers improperly “colluded” with the FBI and federal prosecutors to use immigration procedures as a “subterfuge” to “spirit” Benatta to New York City. He scathed the government for not releasing Benatta despite that he was officially cleared by the FBI of any connection to terrorism. He concluded that to keep Benatta imprisoned would be taking part in the “charade that has been perpetrated” against him.

After extensive negotiations between the U.S. and Canadian governments, Benatta was finally allowed to return to Canada to resume his asylum claim. His application is pending. He is trying to get his life back. He is trying to find out the truth about why this has happened to him.

Benatta is seeking a judicial review regarding the legality of his transfer to the United States by the Canadian Authorities, and requesting that a judicial system be implemented to protect the human rights provisions of this country’s citizens and of foreigners entitled to the protection under the constitution of Canada and under international law.