Syrian rendition case forces US embassy to clarify view on torture

London: The US embassy in London was forced to clarify statements by its ambassador after he said there was "no evidence" that the US had sent a terrorist suspect to Syria as part of its controversial "extraordinary rendition" programme.

Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, filed suit in federal court last year accusing US authorities of seizing him while he was flying through a New York airport in September 2002 and putting him on a private jet to Jordan and then Syria, where he alleges he was tortured.

Arar has denied any affiliation with terrorist organisations.

Asked about allegations that terrorism suspects had been sent to Syria, where the regime has long been accused of torturing detainees, Robert Tuttle, the US ambassador to London since July, told BBC radio: "I don't think there is any evidence that there have been any renditions carried out in the country of Syria."

Interview

Following the interview, however, the embassy issued a statement to the BBC saying that while the US government could not comment "on specific allegations of intelligence activities", it acknowledged that allegations regarding "a rendition to Syria" had appeared in the press.

Embassy officials could not be reached yesterday for additional comment, but the statement to the BBC, read on-air after yesterday's broadcast of the interview, insisted that the US did not send suspects to countries where they would be tortured.

"The president and secretary [of state Condoleezza] Rice have made clear that even in today's circumstances, where we are confronting a new kind of threat, the United States does not condone torture, its officials do not participate in such activities anywhere, and we do not hand over anyone in our custody to anywhere where we believe that they will be tortured," the statement said.

The statement marks the second time US officials have been forced to clarify statements by Tuttle.

Financial Times