Arwad al-Boushi

Who is Arwad al-Boushi?

Arwad al-Boushi is a Syrian-born Canadian oil-industry worker. He is notable for being at the center of the controversy over the detention and torture of Canadian citizens that has been attributed to American counter-terrorism officials.

Al-Boushi wanted to visit Syria to visit his seriously ill father in 2002. Al-Boushi had been involved with the banned Muslim Brotherhood when he was a teenager. Prior to his departure Syrian authorities assured him his involvement with the banned The Muslim Brotherhood when he was a teenager, in the 1970s would not be a problem for him in 2002, over two decades later. He was nevertheless captured.

Al-Boushi was tried before a Field Military Court, "whose procedures fall far short of international standards for fair trials."

Canadian authorities ostensibly conducted a long diplomatic campaign to pressure the Syrian authorities for his release. However it is also known that Canadian authorities deliberately leaked al-Boushi's name as a terrorist to CTV News, falsely suggesting he had been flagged after Maher Arar "provided information" to his Syrian interrogators.