ACLU Appeals Dismissal of Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary

"The government must not once again be allowed to invoke the mantra of national security to evade scrutiny of its own shameful conduct and that of the private companies who are complicit in aiding a program that relies on kidnapping and torture," said Ann Brick, staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of five men who were kidnapped and secretly transferred to U.S.-run prisons or foreign intelligence agencies overseas where they were interrogated under torture. The lawsuit charges that Jeppesen knowingly aided the program by providing flight planning and logistical support services for aircraft and crews used by the CIA.

Judge James Ware of the Northern District of California dismissed the lawsuit after the government sought to intervene, contending that litigation of the case would reveal “state secrets” and harm national security. However, the ACLU’s lawsuit cited abundant evidence that was already in the public domain, including a sworn affidavit by a former Jeppesen employee and flight records confirming Jeppesen’s involvement.

“Extraordinary rendition is no secret. It has been well-documented and the whole world knows about it,” said Steven Watt, staff attorney with the ACLU Human Rights Program. “It seems the only place we can’t talk about this unlawful program is in American courts. Our clients deserve their day in court, and the government and its cohorts should be held accountable for their egregious violation of the law.”

It has been 50 years since the United States Supreme Court last reviewed the use of the “state secrets” privilege. The privilege has historically been used to exclude discrete pieces of evidence from trials, but in recent years the government has asserted the privilege with increasing regularity in order to block entire lawsuits and justify withholding information from the public.

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