Torture claims inquiry report to be submitted on Monday

A report from the federal inquiry looking into whether federal government officials played a role in the detention of three Arab-Canadians in Syria is to be submitted to the government on Monday, but when its findings will be made public is unclear.

Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin and Ahmad El Maati claim they were tortured while imprisoned in Syria.

An inquiry was launched a year and a half ago that focuses on whether their detentions resulted from the actions of Canadian officials and whether Canadian consular officials acted appropriately in the cases. Former Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci was chosen to lead the inquiry, which was held for the most part behind closed doors.

All three men allege they were tortured, accused of al-Qaeda links and told by their interrogators that information about them had come from the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

They have compared their cases to that of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian who was exonerated by a separate inquiry and paid more than $10 million in compensation by the federal government.

The three men have been joined by human rights groups such as Amnesty International in decrying the inquiry process, saying it is unfair, flawed and secretive.

The government has cited the need to protect national security and quicken the inquiry process as a justification for keeping proceedings out of the public eye.