Democrats seek independent probe on Canadian

The lawmakers said in a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey that an independent investigation is necessary because senior Justice Department officials were involved in the decision to send Maher Arar to Syria.

Arar's case involves one of the most scrutinized cases of extraordinary rendition, a practice in which the U.S. government sends foreign terror suspects to third countries for interrogation.

The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, and Reps. Jerrold Nadler and William Delahunt. All are Democrats.

"Possible misconduct in Mr. Arar's case extends to high-ranking officials within the executive branch," the letter says. "Appointing a special counsel would clearly serve the interests of the department and the public by ensuring that the investigation is thorough, impartial and independent."

Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said the department had not yet received the letter and would not comment.

Lawmakers previously have criticized the administration for hampering investigations by classifying details of the case. A congressional investigation has been trying to determine whether the United States has violated a 1998 law that specifically prohibits the government from turning over suspects to foreign countries where the suspects might be tortured.

U.S. authorities say they do not turn over suspects to other countries without diplomatic assurances that they will not be tortured. However, an internal Department of Homeland Security investigation found that the assurances from Syria in the Arar case were ambiguous.

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was detained by U.S. immigration agents on Sept. 26, 2002, as he stopped over in New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on a flight from Switzerland en route home from a vacation. U.S. immigration officials determined that Arar could be legally deported to Canada, Syria or Switzerland.

Days later, he was sent by private jet to Syria. After nearly a year in a Syrian prison, he was released without charge and returned to Canada.