Final domestic detainee from 9/11 dragnet freed, goes to Canada

An Algerian man believed to be the last domestic detainee stillin custody from a national dragnet after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorattacks was finally set free this week, his lawyer said Friday.

Benemar Benatta, 32, who was cleared of links to terrorism inNovember 2001, went to Ontario, Canada, where he is seekingpolitical asylum, after being released from a Buffalo immigrationlockup on Thursday, said attorney Catherine Amirfar.

"After five years, he had become all but hopeless," she said."Now he's cautiously optimistic."

Benatta was among 1,200 mostly Arab and Muslim men detainednationwide as potential suspects or witnesses in the investigationfollowing the terrorist attacks.

The government has refused to discuss their fate, but humanrights groups have said they believed the former Algerian air forcelieutenant was the only one still in custody.

Heather Tasker, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney in Manhattan,refused to discuss Benatta's release, which was first reported bythe Washington Post.

U.S. officials agreed to release Benatta after the CanadianConsulate General's office in Buffalo granted him temporaryresidency, according to court papers filed Wednesday in New York.

The last detainee's odyssey began Sept. 5, 2001, when, afteroverstaying a six-month visa, he crossed the border near Buffalo toseek asylum in Canada. After the Sept. 11 attacks, his background asa Muslim man with flight experience prompted Canadian officials toturn him over to U.S. authorities.

He spent the next six months in solitary confinement in a federaljail in Brooklyn. Though the FBI concluded he had no links toterrorism, he was eventually charged with carrying falseidentification -- a case that was dropped after a federal magistratefound his right to due process had been violated.

The magistrate wrote in a 2003 decision that Benatta had been"undeniably deprived of his liberty" and "held in custody underharsh conditions which can be said to be oppressive."

Despite the ruling, immigration officials continued to keep himin custody in Buffalo while he appealed a deportation order andrenewed his quest for asylum based on a claim that, as a militarydeserter, he would be tortured or killed if he returned to Algeria.

A U.N. human rights group that studied the case noted that mostasylum seekers are released pending the outcome of their cases.

"The imprisonment Mr. Benatta has endured has been a de factoprison sentence," the U.N. group wrote in findings made public inMarch. "In no way can the simple administrative offense of havingstayed in the United States after his visa had expired justify sucha disproportionate sentence."

Final domestic detainee from 9/11 dragnet freed, goes to Canada

An Algerian man believed to be the last domestic detainee stillin custody from a national dragnet after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorattacks was finally set free this week, his lawyer said Friday.

Benemar Benatta, 32, who was cleared of links to terrorism inNovember 2001, went to Ontario, Canada, where he is seekingpolitical asylum, after being released from a Buffalo immigrationlockup on Thursday, said attorney Catherine Amirfar.

"After five years, he had become all but hopeless," she said."Now he's cautiously optimistic."

Benatta was among 1,200 mostly Arab and Muslim men detainednationwide as potential suspects or witnesses in the investigationfollowing the terrorist attacks.

The government has refused to discuss their fate, but humanrights groups have said they believed the former Algerian air forcelieutenant was the only one still in custody.

Heather Tasker, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney in Manhattan,refused to discuss Benatta's release, which was first reported bythe Washington Post.

U.S. officials agreed to release Benatta after the CanadianConsulate General's office in Buffalo granted him temporaryresidency, according to court papers filed Wednesday in New York.

The last detainee's odyssey began Sept. 5, 2001, when, afteroverstaying a six-month visa, he crossed the border near Buffalo toseek asylum in Canada. After the Sept. 11 attacks, his background asa Muslim man with flight experience prompted Canadian officials toturn him over to U.S. authorities.

He spent the next six months in solitary confinement in a federaljail in Brooklyn. Though the FBI concluded he had no links toterrorism, he was eventually charged with carrying falseidentification -- a case that was dropped after a federal magistratefound his right to due process had been violated.

The magistrate wrote in a 2003 decision that Benatta had been"undeniably deprived of his liberty" and "held in custody underharsh conditions which can be said to be oppressive."

Despite the ruling, immigration officials continued to keep himin custody in Buffalo while he appealed a deportation order andrenewed his quest for asylum based on a claim that, as a militarydeserter, he would be tortured or killed if he returned to Algeria.

A U.N. human rights group that studied the case noted that mostasylum seekers are released pending the outcome of their cases.

"The imprisonment Mr. Benatta has endured has been a de factoprison sentence," the U.N. group wrote in findings made public inMarch. "In no way can the simple administrative offense of havingstayed in the United States after his visa had expired justify sucha disproportionate sentence."