Extraordinary Rendition Case Thrown Out Again

Khaled El-Masri, a Lebanese German citizen, alleges that he was mistakenly identified as a terrorist, and was kidnapped by the CIA on New Year's Eve 2003.^[1] He claims he was then flown to a CIA-run prison known as the "salt pit" in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was beaten and sodomized with an object during five months in captivity. The U.S. government has neither confirmed nor denied el-Masri's account.^[2]

El-Masri was trying to sue the U.S. government for $75,000 in damages; the U.S. District Court dismissed the suit that centered on the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program.^[3]

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's dismissal of el-Masri's lawsuit against former CIA director George Tenet and others saying the danger that state secrets could be revealed outweighs a German man's claims that the CIA tortured him in an Afghan prison.^[4] Judge Robert King said the only way that el-Masri could mount his case was by using "evidence that exposes how the CIA organizes, staffs and supervises its most sensitive intelligence operations."^[5] The court continued to say that under the state secrets doctrine, the United States may prevent the disclosure of information in a judicial proceeding if "there is a reasonable danger" that such disclosure "will expose military matters which, in the interest of national security, should not be divulged."^[6]


Human rights advocates have frequently criticized the "extraordinary rendition" program, and they are concerned that this ruling essentially gives the CIA carte blanche when they are interrogating suspects.^[7] Ben Wizner, an ACLU lawyer who is representing el-Masri, said "[w]hat's most troubling about this is it literally grants the CIA complete immunity to engage in any kind of misconduct."^[8]

We have spoken previously about extraordinary rendition kidnappings, here.

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^[1] CIA torture lawsuit thwarted again, AP (via MSNBC), March 2, 2007.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Extraordinary rendition is the name of the program where terrorist suspects are captured and taken to foreign countries for interrogation. Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] El-Masri v. United States, No. 06-1667, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4796, at *12-13 (4th Cir. Mar. 2, 2007) (quoting, United States v. Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1, 10, 97 L. Ed. 727 (1953)).
^[7] AP, supra note 1.
^[8] Id.