Arar was accused of having links to Al Qaeda, which his family and supporters deny. It was reported that Syria - which he had not visited since immigrating to Canada at 17 in 1988 - planned to try him for membership in a banned organization called the Muslim Brotherhood.

His case prompted an outcry from his family, opposition politicians, Arab-Canadian groups and Amnesty International, which claimed he had been beaten with sticks and cables and tortured by electric shocks while imprisoned by Syria.

Although negotiations had been ongoing between the Canadian government and Syria for many months, the telephone call to Canada advising of the release was apparently a surprise when it came on Saturday.

The minister denied a connection between Arar's release and the recent Israeli bombing of a target inside Syria. The air strike, which Israel claimed destroyed an Islamic Jihad training base, was in retaliation for a suicide bombing Saturday that killed 19 Israelis.

Maher Arar will not be detained further when he gets home. He will return to his family.

[thanks to Damned Foreigner for the link]