Dismissed Lawsuit Over Abducted German Appealed

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is appealing the dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed by a German man of Lebanese origin, who said the CIA abducted him and transported him to a prison where he was tortured.

The ACLU, which represents Khaled al-Masri in the lawsuit against former CIA Director George Tenet, his subordinates and three aviation companies that allegedly ran secret "rendition" flights, asked the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, to overturn a May 18 ruling by US District Court Judge T.S. Ellis. The judge had dismissed al-Masri's case because of a perceived risk to national security.

"In the US, the courts are the final protectors and final guarantors of individual rights and liberties," Benjamin Wizner, al-Masri's ACLU lawyer in New York, told DW-RADIO. "And what happened to Mr. al-Masri as a result of gross executive misconduct must be remedied by our court which is why yesterday we filed an appeal with a higher court…asking that court not to ignore common sense -- that to discuss in a court room what is being discussed all around the world will not harm national security."

Al-Masri is accusing the US of mistakenly identifying him as a terror suspect and abducting him in Macedonia in December 2001. He alleges that he was drugged, beaten and flown by the CIA to a prison in Afghanistan, where he was held for five months before the US government flew him to Albania and left him there.

'Terribly important case'

The case is currently being investigated in Europe and is being watched around the world.

"This is a terribly important case, to make sure the US respects its obligations both under our constitution, under international law and under our treaties," Wizner said. "What the US did to Khaled al-Masri should make every American ashamed. All that al-Masri wants from our government is an acknowledgement of what happened, an explanation for why it happened and an apology."

Tenet, who was director of the CIA at the time of al-Masri's alleged kidnapping, and the CIA have declined to comment on the case.

Al-Masri deserves a remedy

When Ellis dismissed the case because he thought it would expose state secrets vital to the US war on terrorism, he still acknowledged that al-Masri suffered injuries as a result of the US government's mistake and deserves a remedy.

The ACLU said the case has already played out in the media around the world and such a ruling gives the government too much power to act without oversight.

"The idea that this case cannot be litigated because of secrecy is even further undermined by the reports that are coming out of Europe," Wizner said. "The Council of Europe has publicly concluded that Mr. al-Masri was rendered by the CIA. There was an article in newspapers here last week that identified an eye witness who shared the prison with Mr. al-Masri in Afghanistan. The entire world knows what happened to Mr. al-Masri and it is fiction that litigation would expose any secrets of state. What the US is really seeking to avoid here is embarrassment not danger."

ACLU lawyers said they will take the case all the way to the Supreme Court if they have to in order to get al-Masri what he wants.

"At this point, we are hoping that we get a chance to litigate this case, to move forward and perhaps even to reach a settlement with the government," Wizner said. "Again, Mr. al-Masri has made clear that a settlement would not be difficult as long as an apology is forthcoming."