OTTAWA — Amnesty International is calling on the federal government to follow the recommendations of the Maher Arar commission and launch an inquiry into the cases of three men who were also detained in Syria.

Abdullah Almalki, Toronto truck driver Ahmad El Maati and Toronto-area geologist Muayyed Nureddin say "someone has to answer'' for their torture and the time they spent behind bars without charges.

Arar, a Syrian-Canadian dual citizen, was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2002 and deported to Damascus, where he spent a year in prison and was tortured into false confessions of ties to al-Qaida.

Justice Dennis O'Connor concluded Arar was innocent and that U.S. authorities "very likely'' acted on erroneous RCMP information.

He urged Ottawa to review the other cases through an independent and credible process.

O'Connor says the cases of Almalki, El Maati and Nureddin raise troubling questions about the role of Canadian officials.