Ottawa — The New Democratic Party will announce Wednesday it has landed a star candidate best known for her indefatigable battle to win her husband's freedom from a Syrian prison.
Sources say Monia Mazigh, the wife of Syrian-born Maher Arar, will declare her intention to run for the NDP at a news conference accompanied by party leader Jack Layton.
One party official declined to confirm the news but lauded Ms. Mazigh on Tuesday, saying she would be a strong asset for the party in the election expected this spring.
"If she announces she's running it would be a tremendous boost to our party," said the source.
"She's highly credible, articulate and an intelligent candidate and we are thrilled she is considering running for us."
Ms. Mazigh is a second high-profile catch landed by the NDP in the Ottawa area, with former leader Ed Broadbent recently returning to active politics to take a run in Ottawa Centre.
Last month Ms. Mazigh said she was considering offers from the federal Liberals and New Democrats to run in the coming election.
Ms. Mazigh said she had been offered an Ottawa riding but would not go beyond that. She, her husband and two children live in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean. Her member of Parliament is Marlene Catterall, a Liberal who worked hard to win Mr. Arar's release.
Even though she has no political experience, Ms. Mazigh would be a marquee candidate for any political party. Her battle for her husband's freedom won her widespread sympathy and admiration.
Her husband's ordeal would influence her work if she were elected, Ms. Mazigh said. But she added her interests range beyond the Middle East or prisoners' rights.
Ms. Mazigh has a doctorate in finance and would be interested in pursuing economic issues, particularly as they pertain to families.
"I am still at the decision stage but I would like to participate in the democratic process and make things happen," she said at the time.
Mr. Arar's arrest in the United States, subsequent deportation and detention in his native Syria will be the subject of a public probe later this year.
Since his return to Canada last fall, he has maintained his innocence but acknowledged he falsely confessed to attending an al-Qaeda training camp to curtail torture by his captors.
Mr. Arar, an engineer, was detained Sept. 26, 2002, on suspicion of terrorist links as he passed through JFK International Airport in New York on his way home from a vacation in Tunisia.
The dual citizen was deported Oct. 8, 2002, flown to Jordan and driven in a car to Syria, where he spent months of solitary confinement in a small cell.
Ms. Mazigh repeatedly spoke out in her husband's defence throughout his detainment and has appeared by his side at news conferences since his return, criticizing Ottawa and urging it to convene the public inquiry.
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