You are in a country with no laws," rendition victim Khaled El-Masri was told by his U.S. captors in the Kabul prison known as the Salt Pit. He was kidnapped and abused by the CIA, and held in inhuman conditions for some five months. He was never allowed to contact his family, a lawyer, or representatives of his country of citizenship (Germany). He was never charged with a crime or brought before a judge. When the CIA finally recognised it had an innocent man, he was dumped on a roadside in rural Albania, without explanation or apology. The US has yet to acknowledge its role in his ordeal.
Such treatment should shock the conscience of any nation governed by the rule of law. But US courts, all the way to the Supreme Court, have refused to give Khaled El-Masri a chance to tell his story and receive justice. His case was thrown out under the 'state secrets; doctrine—essentially telling El-Masri and other rendition victims that whatever U.S. government agents do in the name of the "war on terror" may be entirely outside the reach of the law. Even if that means handing someone over to foreign torturers for proxy interrogation, which was the fate of Binyam Mohamed, the other rendition victim featured in this video. (Mohamed was recently released from the Guantanamo prison, also without redress or apology.)
CIA Rendition Case Reaches Top European CourtNEW YORK—The European Court of Human Rights will consider the case of a German citizen who was kidnapped and beaten in connection with the CIA's extraordinary rendition program, the Open Society Justice Initiative revealed today. This is the first time an extraordinary rendition case related to the "war on terror" has reached Europe's top court.
Macedonian security forces seized Khaled El-Masri at the request of the United States in December 2003 and held him—incommunicado—for 23 days. El-Masri was then handed over to the CIA and flown to a detention center in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was confined in appalling conditions, interrogated, and abused. After several months, El-Masri was finally released and dumped on a roadside in Albania. Despite overwhelming evidence of its collaboration, Macedonia has denied that El-Masri was detained illegally on its territory or handed over to the CIA.
"European governments must be held accountable for participating in torture, abuse, and kidnappings in association with the CIA's rendition program," said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is litigating the case. "United States courts may have closed their doors on this matter, but we hope that El-Masri will find justice before the European Court."
As with rendition survivor Maher Arar, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear El-Masri's case. The U.S. government asserted the "state secrets privilege" when challenged in the United States, which resulted in the case's dismissal. The United States has yet to publicly acknowledge El-Masri's rendition. He has never been charged with a crime or given any explanation for his treatment.
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTSThe European Court of Human Rights is an
international court set up in 1959. It rules on
individual or State applications alleging violations of
the civil and political rights set out in the European
Convention on Human Rights. Since 1998 it has sat
as a full-time court and individuals can apply to it
directly.
In almost fifty years the Court has delivered more
than 10,000 judgments. These are binding on the
countries concerned and have led governments to
alter their legislation and administrative practice in
a wide range of areas. The Court’s case-law makes
the Convention a powerful living instrument for
meeting new challenges and consolidating the rule
of law and democracy in Europe.
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