Benamar Benatta

Benamar "Ben" Benatta is an Algerian refugee claimant living in Canada. On September 12, 2001, the day following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Benatta was turned over to United States authorities by Canada border guards, and was held in detention for nearly five years despite having been cleared of suspicions of terrorist activities by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Benatta was a Lieutenant in the Algerian Air Force, and was sent to the United States on a 6-month visa in December 2000 to attend training seminars in Baltimore at the military conglomerate Northrop Grumman as part of a military exchange program.

He did not return to Algeria at the end of the course, reporting that he feared for his life due to threats from terrorists and from the military. Between June 2001, when his visa expired, and September 2001 he lived in New York City with an Orthodox Jew as a roommate.

On September 5, 2001, he travelled to Buffalo, where he crossed the Peace Bridge into Canada and applied for refugee status. He was detained by Canada border officials who declared him a person of interest and were apparently concerned about his mental health. Six days after his detention, the events of September 11, 2001, took place and that evening he was questioned by US security officials.

Canada immigration officials illegally transferred him over the border to US officials on September 12, 2001, and he was moved to a holding cell in upstate New York and then to a high-security detention centre in Brooklyn and then to one in Buffalo. He said he was kept in solitary confinement and alleged that he was tortured and humiliated while in US custody. He has reported that officials shackled his wrists and feet, tied his chest with a chain, and denied him sleep. He was not given access to a lawyer until late April 2002. A United Nations working group later described the treatment of Benatta as torture.

On November 15, 2001 American law enforcement officials determined that Benatta had no ties to terrorism. However, he remained in detention as in December 2001 he was charged with carrying false identification papers, though he was not informed of the charges until April 2002, nor offered access to the lawyer. He was offered a plea bargain that would have meant a six-month sentence, and a fairly quick release, but decided to fight the charges: "I'm not a criminal. Never," Benatta said.

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