‘Stop Canadian involvement in torture, and open up the secret torture inquiry now' were the two demands made by a group of human rights activists this week as they traveled from Toronto to Ottawa.

The caravan against Canadian involvement in torture, organized by Matthew Behrens of ‘Homes not Bombs', started in Toronto on May 1 and made stops in over 20 municipalities along the way doing vigils, non-violent direct actions, pickets, speaking events, leafleting, and petitioning to bring awareness to the issue of Canada's complicity in the torture.

Human rights activists in every city joined in actions, provided meals and billeting, and boosted the numbers of the 30-plus caravan members who included two members of the Fanshawe community (myself and librarian Beth Guthrie), a Norwegian documentary film crew, activists from across Ontario, and three Canadian citizens who were tortured in Syria and Egypt at the request of the RCMP and CSIS (Canada's spy agency). Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin spoke of their experiences of being brutally tortured, in the same prison as Maher Arar, by interrogators who were asking questions sent from Canada.

Visit www.abdullahalmalki.com and sign the petition for an open inquiry.

For more info, to get involved, or stay updated email tasc@web.ca.