German sues Macedonia over alleged CIA kidnapping

[sabra]

Source: Bloomberg/AP

KOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — A German man allegedly snatched by the CIA in Macedonia and tortured at a secret prison in Afghanistan launched a claim in court Friday to demand official recognition and compensation for his ordeal. But a key supporter of his case was only allowed to give limited testimony on the opening day of the trial.

Khaled el-Masri is seeking euro50,000 ($69,000) in compensation and an apology from Macedonia, following failed attempts to have his case heard in courts in the United States and Germany.

El-Masri, who is of Lebanese descent, says he was brutally interrogated at a secret CIA-run prison in Afghanistan for more than four months after being kidnapped from Macedonia in 2003, apparently mistaken for a terror suspect.

He said he went on hunger strike for 27 days and was eventually flown back to Europe and abandoned in a mountainous area in Albania.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-04/german-sues-macedonia-over-alleged-cia-kidnapping.html

[harmonicon]

1. ... and he's only asking for 50k?

That seems crazy to me... must be one tough guy. I would think that that would ruin someone for many years, if not for life. I would think he'd need millions just to cope.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Maybe it did ruin him - he's in jail for assaulting his mayor

Maybe he has PTSD.

[harmonicon]

5. I bet he has something much worse than that.

I know that I can't really understand what soldiers go through, not having done it myself, but I can imagine in some ways what it entails. I can't really imagine what it would be like to be kidnapped, tortured, and then dropped in a foreign country. What would your life be like if suddenly you learned that NOTHING can protect you? Not your government, not police, not courts, etc. How could you even leave your house?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. It sucks that the American courts have screwed him on this

In the United States, el-Masri filed a lawsuit against former CIA director George Tenet with the aid of the American Civil Liberties Union. But the complaint was never heard in a U.S. court on the grounds that it would reveal government secrets. That rejection was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007.

That shouldn't be a defence. If the government wants to keep its secrets, then they should have to admit they were in the wrong, and give him a high amount of compensation.

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R