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. 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. In 2004, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that the treatment of Benatta "could be described as torture" and found that his detention was arbitrary.

On November 15, 2001, American law enforcement officials determined that Benatta had no ties to terrorism. following high-level negotiations between Canada and the U.S. which resulted in the Government of Canada offering him temporary residence while he sought refugee status.

The Los Angeles Times quoted Benatta: has since been promoted to "Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys".