Judge allows American to sue Rumsfeld over torture

Judge allows American to sue Rumsfeld over torture

- Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- 

 

A federal judge has ruled that former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld can be sued personally for damages by a former U.S. military contractor who says he was tortured during a nine-month imprisonment in Iraq.

 

The lawsuit lays out a dramatic tale of the disappearance of the then-civilian contractor, an Army veteran in his 50s whose identity is being withheld from court filings for fear of retaliation. Attorneys for the man, who speaks five languages and worked as a translator for Marines collecting intelligence in Iraq, say he was preparing to come home to the United States on annual leave when he was abducted by the U.S. military and held without justification while his family knew nothing about his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive.

 

The government says he was suspected of helping pass classified information to the enemy and helping anti-coalition forces get into Iraq. But he was never charged with a crime, and he says he never broke the law and was risking his life to help his country.

 

AP Photo - FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2007, file photo, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. A federal judge says Rusmfeld can be sued personally for damages by a former U.S. military contractor who says he was tortured during nine months in prison in Iraq.
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Court papers filed on his behalf say he was repeatedly abused while being held at Camp Cropper, a U.S. military facility near the Baghdad airport dedicated to holding "high-value" detainees, then suddenly released without explanation in August 2006. Two years later, he filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington arguing that Rumsfeld personally approved torturous interrogation techniques on a case-by-case basis and controlled his detention without access to courts in violation of his constitutional rights.

 

Chicago attorney Mike Kanovitz, who is representing the plaintiff, says it appears the military wanted to keep his client behind bars so he couldn't tell anyone about an important contact he made with a leading sheik while helping collect intelligence in Iraq.

 

 

"The U.S. government wasn't ready for the rest of the world to know about it, so they basically put him on ice," Kanovitz said in a telephone interview. "If you've got unchecked power over the citizens, why not use it?"

 

The Obama administration has represented Rumsfeld through the Justice Department and argued that the former defense secretary cannot be sued personally for official conduct. The Justice Department also argued that a judge cannot review wartime decisions that are the constitutional responsibility of Congress and the president. And the department said the case could disclose sensitive information and distract from the war effort and that the threat of liability would impede future military decisions.

 

But U.S. District Judge James Gwin rejected those arguments and said U.S. citizens are protected by the Constitution at home or abroad during wartime.


Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/08/03/3269489/judge-allows-america...

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Comment by casazaza on August 4, 2011 at 2:17am
Throw Rummy into a vat full of Aspartame - sweet justice!
Comment by Tara on August 4, 2011 at 1:20am
We need a few more good judges like Judge Gwin. It's nice to hear some good news for a change. Take that Rumsfeld; you evil, greedy, war mongering SOB. We might not be able to see your arse in prison, rotting away for the rest of your life, but you'll get hit in the pocket book where most greedy SOB's like yourself feel the most pain when they're pockets have been picked.

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