Canada apologizes, pays Arar for Syrian ordeal

OTTAWA, Jan 27 (Reuters) Canada has apologized to software engineer Maher Arar and his family and said it would pay him 10.5 million Canadian dollar (8.9 million dollar) in compensation after Canadian police falsely labeled him an Islamic extremist, which led to Arar being jailed in Syria.

''On behalf of the government of Canada, I wish to apologize to you, Monia Mazigh (Arar's wife), and your family for any role Canadian officials may have played in the terrible ordeal that all of you experienced in 2002 and 2003,'' Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated yesterday.

Arar says he was repeatedly tortured during the year he spent in Damascus jails after he was deported to Syria by U S officials during a stopover in New York in 2002.

The apology and compensation were a part of settlement agreed to by Arar after he launched a suit against the Canadian government. He is also suing the United States.

Harper objected to the United States continuing to keep Arar on its security watch list. A Canadian judicial inquiry concluded last year that Arar had never been a security threat and it recommended compensation.

In addition to the 10.5 million Canadian dollar, the Canadian government will also pay Arar's legal bills, which a Harper aide estimated at 1.5 million Canadian dollar.

REUTERS PDS RN0413