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Lawsuit Charges CIA with Kidnapping and Torture of German Citizen
On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a German citizen who says U.S. agents mistakenly kidnapped him and sent him to a secret prison in Afghanistan where he was tortured. We speak with British journalist Stehen Grey who helped expose the CIA rendition program of flying detainees to secret prisons around the world.
On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a German citizen who says U.S. agents mistakenly kidnapped him and sent him to a secret prison in Afghanistan.
The suit was filed against former CIA Director George Tenet and three companies that operate CIA aircraft.
This marks the first time the federal government has been sued for the secretive practice known as extraordinary rendition where CIA agents essentially kidnap people overseas and then transport them to overseas prisons.
The victim in this case - Khaled El-Masri - says he was first detained while on vacation in Macedonia. Once in CIA custody he says he was repeatedly beaten, roughly interrogated by masked men, detained in squalid conditions and denied access to an attorney or his family.
He was only released after the CIA realized they had detained the wrong man. After the ACLU announced the lawsuit on Tuesday, Khaled El-Masri spoke to reporters by videophone from Germany.
* Khaled El-Masri, speaking December 6, 2005.
Khaled El-Masri was unable to attend the ACLU's Washington press conference because he had been refused entry to the United States after arriving Saturday in Atlanta on a flight from Germany.
His lawsuit comes at a time when the Bush administration's secret practices are coming under intense scrutiny in Europe. Investigations are underway throughout the region over the CIA kidnappings as well as the possibility that the U.S. has operated secret prisons inside Europe.
ABC News reported earlier this week, the U.S. was operating two such prisons as recently as last month. The men were moved ahead of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to Europe and are now being held in a secret prison in North Africa.
On Tuesday President Bush defended his administration clandestine operations.
* President Bush, speaking December 6, 2005.
We speak with British journalist Stephen Grey, who helped expose that the CIA was flying detainees to secret prisons around the world.
* Stephen Grey, has written extensively on these secret CIA programs for the Sunday Times of London, New Statesman, New York Times and other publications.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/07/1519249
The suit was filed against former CIA Director George Tenet and three companies that operate CIA aircraft.
This marks the first time the federal government has been sued for the secretive practice known as extraordinary rendition where CIA agents essentially kidnap people overseas and then transport them to overseas prisons.
The victim in this case - Khaled El-Masri - says he was first detained while on vacation in Macedonia. Once in CIA custody he says he was repeatedly beaten, roughly interrogated by masked men, detained in squalid conditions and denied access to an attorney or his family.
He was only released after the CIA realized they had detained the wrong man. After the ACLU announced the lawsuit on Tuesday, Khaled El-Masri spoke to reporters by videophone from Germany.
* Khaled El-Masri, speaking December 6, 2005.
Khaled El-Masri was unable to attend the ACLU's Washington press conference because he had been refused entry to the United States after arriving Saturday in Atlanta on a flight from Germany.
His lawsuit comes at a time when the Bush administration's secret practices are coming under intense scrutiny in Europe. Investigations are underway throughout the region over the CIA kidnappings as well as the possibility that the U.S. has operated secret prisons inside Europe.
ABC News reported earlier this week, the U.S. was operating two such prisons as recently as last month. The men were moved ahead of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to Europe and are now being held in a secret prison in North Africa.
On Tuesday President Bush defended his administration clandestine operations.
* President Bush, speaking December 6, 2005.
We speak with British journalist Stephen Grey, who helped expose that the CIA was flying detainees to secret prisons around the world.
* Stephen Grey, has written extensively on these secret CIA programs for the Sunday Times of London, New Statesman, New York Times and other publications.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/07/1519249
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The U.S.A. Must Be Destroyed!
Thu, Dec 8, 2005 4:54AM
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