Man Mistakenly Abducted by C.I.A. Seeks Redress

11-29-2006, 08:44 AM

Man Mistakenly Abducted by C.I.A. Seeks Redress

By NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: November 29, 2006
RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 28 — A lawyer for a German man who was abducted while on vacation in Macedonia and said he was tortured while in C.I.A. custody in Afghanistan urged a federal appeals court on Tuesday to reinstate his lawsuit against the agency, which had been dismissed for national security reasons.

In May, a federal trial judge threw out the suit brought by Khaled el-Masri, who said he was an innocent victim of the Central Intelligence Agency’s program of transferring terrorism suspects secretly to other countries for detention and interrogation. Judge T. S. Ellis III of Federal District Court in Alexandria said that although it appeared a great injustice might have been done to Mr. Masri, he was persuaded by the government that there was no way to even begin a trial without impermissibly disclosing state secrets.

Benjamin Wizner, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, told a three-judge appeals panel on Tuesday that the government’s position was absurd because what happened to Mr. Masri had hardly remained secret. He noted that the German government was openly investigating whether its officials had played a role in Mr. Masri’s ordeal, and numerous news accounts have quoted unidentified American officials as confirming what happened.

Mr. Wizner said the government had not plausibly explained how national security interests might be harmed by a trial. He said President Bush acknowledged the C.I.A.’s program, known as extraordinary rendition, this summer, and it is widely known that other governments have been involved. A trial would not disclose state secrets but would merely involve “confirmation of a fact the entire world already knows,” he said.

Gregory G. Katsas, a senior Justice Department lawyer, told the judges that courts must defer to the executive branch when it invokes the state secrets doctrine, which was first recognized by the Supreme Court in 1953.

Mr. Katsas said Porter J. Goss, who was the C.I.A. director when the suit was brought, filed a secret statement with the court outlining the agency’s case against a trial. Mr. Katsas said the statement provided a detailed account of how seemingly innocuous disclosures “will have a cascading effect that will have devastating consequences” for national security.

Mr. Masri sat stolidly in the first row of the courtroom during the 50-minute argument. A large man with graying hair cinched in a ponytail, he said in an interview later that he was infuriated with Judge Ellis’s view that there might be no remedy for the injustice apparently done to him.

Mr. Masri, who was born in Kuwait, was arrested in Macedonia on Dec. 31, 2003, and flown to a prison in Afghanistan, where he was held for five months. During his incarceration, he has said, he was shackled, beaten and injected with drugs.

On Tuesday, he said through an interpreter that he was kept in deplorable conditions “not fit for a human being at all.” Upon arrival in Afghanistan, he said, he was told that he was in a place where he had no right to recourse for what happened to him.

“I would like an explanation for what happened,” he told reporters. “I would like an apology.”

Mr. Wizner, his lawyer, said that although he believed Mr. Masri was entitled to financial compensation, he was not necessarily seeking anything beyond some official expression of remorse.

United States officials have been quoted anonymously in news reports as saying that Mr. Masri’s case was one of mistaken identity; intelligence authorities may have confused him with an operative for Al Qaeda with a similar name.

The officials said Mr. Masri was released in May 2004 on the orders of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser, after she learned he had been mistakenly identified as a terrorism suspect. He was freed in Albania, where he was left to make his way home to Germany, which he likened to being treated “like a piece of luggage.”

Mr. Masri, who had earlier been denied permission to come to the United States to attend the hearing, said he has not been able to find a job since his return to Germany. “Both my Arab and German friends keep their distance,” he said.

On Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet with some Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee who are exploring the rendition program and the Bush administration’s increasingly frequent invocation of the state secrets doctrine to block lawsuits.

Flint · 11-29-2006, 08:52 AM

Quote:

...intelligence authorities may have confused him with an operative for Al Qaeda with a similar name...

11-29-2006, 09:40 AM

Yeah... no shit. "Water-board his ass.
Oh, it's not him? Drop him off half-way around the world and see how he gets home... bets anyone?"
Suuuuuurrrrrre, we're the good guys!

tw · 11-29-2006, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

Yeah... no shit. "Water-board his ass.

Was recently as Seven Flags Great Adventure. They have this really big water board. It was fun. Why is tht called torture? Because ticket prices are so high?

11-29-2006, 05:57 PM

Nice.

11-29-2006, 08:44 AM	#1
rkzenrage Guest Posts: n/a	Man Mistakenly Abducted by C.I.A. Seeks Redress Man Mistakenly Abducted by C.I.A. Seeks Redress By NEIL A. LEWIS Published: November 29, 2006 RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 28 — A lawyer for a German man who was abducted while on vacation in Macedonia and said he was tortured while in C.I.A. custody in Afghanistan urged a federal appeals court on Tuesday to reinstate his lawsuit against the agency, which had been dismissed for national security reasons. In May, a federal trial judge threw out the suit brought by Khaled el-Masri, who said he was an innocent victim of the Central Intelligence Agency’s program of transferring terrorism suspects secretly to other countries for detention and interrogation. Judge T. S. Ellis III of Federal District Court in Alexandria said that although it appeared a great injustice might have been done to Mr. Masri, he was persuaded by the government that there was no way to even begin a trial without impermissibly disclosing state secrets. Benjamin Wizner, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, told a three-judge appeals panel on Tuesday that the government’s position was absurd because what happened to Mr. Masri had hardly remained secret. He noted that the German government was openly investigating whether its officials had played a role in Mr. Masri’s ordeal, and numerous news accounts have quoted unidentified American officials as confirming what happened. Mr. Wizner said the government had not plausibly explained how national security interests might be harmed by a trial. He said President Bush acknowledged the C.I.A.’s program, known as extraordinary rendition, this summer, and it is widely known that other governments have been involved. A trial would not disclose state secrets but would merely involve “confirmation of a fact the entire world already knows,” he said. Gregory G. Katsas, a senior Justice Department lawyer, told the judges that courts must defer to the executive branch when it invokes the state secrets doctrine, which was first recognized by the Supreme Court in 1953. Mr. Katsas said Porter J. Goss, who was the C.I.A. director when the suit was brought, filed a secret statement with the court outlining the agency’s case against a trial. Mr. Katsas said the statement provided a detailed account of how seemingly innocuous disclosures “will have a cascading effect that will have devastating consequences” for national security. Mr. Masri sat stolidly in the first row of the courtroom during the 50-minute argument. A large man with graying hair cinched in a ponytail, he said in an interview later that he was infuriated with Judge Ellis’s view that there might be no remedy for the injustice apparently done to him. Mr. Masri, who was born in Kuwait, was arrested in Macedonia on Dec. 31, 2003, and flown to a prison in Afghanistan, where he was held for five months. During his incarceration, he has said, he was shackled, beaten and injected with drugs. On Tuesday, he said through an interpreter that he was kept in deplorable conditions “not fit for a human being at all.” Upon arrival in Afghanistan, he said, he was told that he was in a place where he had no right to recourse for what happened to him. “I would like an explanation for what happened,” he told reporters. “I would like an apology.” Mr. Wizner, his lawyer, said that although he believed Mr. Masri was entitled to financial compensation, he was not necessarily seeking anything beyond some official expression of remorse. United States officials have been quoted anonymously in news reports as saying that Mr. Masri’s case was one of mistaken identity; intelligence authorities may have confused him with an operative for Al Qaeda with a similar name. The officials said Mr. Masri was released in May 2004 on the orders of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser, after she learned he had been mistakenly identified as a terrorism suspect. He was freed in Albania, where he was left to make his way home to Germany, which he likened to being treated “like a piece of luggage.” Mr. Masri, who had earlier been denied permission to come to the United States to attend the hearing, said he has not been able to find a job since his return to Germany. “Both my Arab and German friends keep their distance,” he said. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet with some Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee who are exploring the rendition program and the Bush administration’s increasingly frequent invocation of the state secrets doctrine to block lawsuits.

11-29-2006, 09:40 AM	#3
rkzenrage Guest Posts: n/a	Yeah... no shit. "Water-board his ass. Oh, it's not him? Drop him off half-way around the world and see how he gets home... bets anyone?" Suuuuuurrrrrre, we're the good guys!

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