was arrested in Syria - Project A-O officers wanted to send Syria information about him, as well as a list of questions that they wanted him to answer, stating that "Depending on his willingness to answer truthfully and depending on the answers he provides you, a second series of questions has been prepared for him". Sgt. Rick Flewelling, from the RCMP headquarters, intervened and insisted that the Department of Justice and Foreign Affairs would have to be involved In September 2002, the A-O division began asking the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) to help them secure the ability to travel to Syria to interrogate Almalki themselves, or at least direct how he would be interrogated by Syrians. When DFAIT officer Jonathan Solomon demanded to know whether they would be clear not to use torture, since it had already been used against Ahmed el-Maati, A-O Division officers "got awkward" and Cabana claimed that it was possible that el-Maati had just been lying about Syria using torture. Also in September, as Arar was en route to New York from Switzerland, Project A-O officers faxed a memo to Americans which involved a number of "false claims" about Arar, stating that he and his wife were "Islamic Extremist individuals suspected of being linked to the Al Qaeda terrorist movement". Arar was subsequently arrested and deported to Syria where he was tortured for ten months before being found innocent of any wrongdoing. The project also sent officers to Pakistan in 2005, after it was announced that Khadr's son Abdullah had been arrested. Abdullah stated that when he was about 14 years old, his father had purchased two pairs of walkie talkies from Almalki, although his lawyers later argued the statement had been made due to his mistreatment by Pakistani officials. Members Toronto Members Ottawa Members Fallout After it was discovered that Canadian authorities had been complicit in the rendition and torture of an innocent Canadian, a Royal Commission was formed to investigate. Project A-O figured prominently in the explanation of Canada's anti-terrorism investigations, while attorney Don Bayne unsuccessfully argued that since the RCMP couldn't disclose full information due to national security concerns, it therefore shouldn't have to disclose any information about the project. The Commission determined that the Project A-O officers "lacked experience and training in conducting national security investigations". See also Richard Proulx (RCMP officer) References Ref Note 1. 2. 3.