Amer el-Maati

Who is Amer el-Maati?

Born in Kuwait, Amro Badr Abou el-Maati is a Canadian citizen who the United States has alleged is a member of Al-Qaeda who attended flight school and discussed hijacking a Canadian plane to fly into American buildings. He has been referred to as "Canada's most wanted terrorist". His brother was one of a number of Canadians illegally renditioned to Syria to face torture in the years following the September 11 attacks, ostensibly because of interest in Amer, although officials would never give any reason for their sudden interest and accusations against el-Maati.

The case against Amer appears to consist of documents addressed to him being found in an office used by al-Qaeda, although the reporter who found them insisted it was possible they had been stolen by the militant group to commit identity theft. Since then, his brother has questioned whether the false confessions he gave under torture played any role in Amer's continued branding as a "terrorist", despite the fact neither Canada nor the United States seem to have even issued an arrest warrant for him.

His father has protested the vilification of both his sons, claiming they were being used by the Department of Homeland Security to keep fear and suspicion high in the United States, particularly against Canadian-Arabs. His opinions were echoed by Toronto cleric, Aly Hindy, who has known the family for years and claimed that the FBI's announcement were "laughable".