The Canadian government has apologized to Maher Arar and agreed to pay him about $9 million. Arar is the Canadian citizen who was seized by U.S. officials during a stopover flight in New York in 2002. He was secretly sent to Syria as part of the Bush administration’s extraordinary rendition program. In Syria, Arar was held for almost a year in a grave-like cell. He was repeatedly tortured. He was released without ever being charged with a crime. Last year, the Canadian government determined Maher Arar was innocent. On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued an official apology to Maher Arar and his family.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper: “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.”

Maher Arar said he was proud to be a Canadian but admitted he is still suffering from the ordeal.

Maher Arar: “There is no amount of money that will compensate me for what myself and my family have gone through.”

Last week, the Bush administration announced that it is keeping Arar on a terrorist watch list despite requests from the Canadian government to remove him.