Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal from German claiming torture by CIA

[sabra]

Source: MSNBC

BREAKING NEWS Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal from German claiming torture by CIA

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

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more:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/10/report-high-cou.html


This just in from the Associated Press: The Supreme Court has sided with the Bush administration in blocking a lawsuit by a man who claims he was tortured by the CIA.

Update at 10:06 a.m. ET: Khaled el-Masri, a 44-year-old German, claims that he was kidnapped and tortured by American officials who mistook him for a suspected terrorist.

The U.S. government hasn't commented on his claims, but did convince lower courts to dismiss the case on the grounds the lawsuit would reveal "state secrets" if it went to trial. The justices refused today to hear el-Masri's appeal of that decision, meaning that his case is no longer viable.

[Solly Mack]

1. Oh, let me guess...national security reasons?

Pats self on back for knowing the obvious lie of an excuse...lolololol
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWAT00823120071009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A German citizen who claimed he was kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured by the CIA lost his appeal on Tuesday when the Supreme Court refused to review a decision dismissing the case because it would expose state secrets.

[Jim__]

2. Oh, that makes sense.

If the government violates your rights, all they have to do is claim that the violation is a national security secret. Then there's nothing you can do about it.

From the MSNBC story:

At the height of Cold War tensions between the United States and the former Soviet Union, U.S. presidents used the state secrets privilege six times from 1953 to 1976, according to OpenTheGovernment.org. Since 2001, it has been used 39 times, enabling the government to unilaterally withhold documents from the court system, the group said.

[leftist_not_liberal]

5. And it's all a big fat fraud

There cannot be democracy where there is secrecy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2004862&mesg_id=2004862

[Fredda Weinberg]

3. Once again, the Supremes shame us n/t

[maddezmom]

4. US Supreme Court Rejects El-Masri Terror Detention Suit

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday denied an appeal from Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent who alleges U.S. spies wrongly abducted him and held him for six months as a terrorism suspect.

El-Masri claims he was headed for vacation from his home in Germany when he was detained at the Serbian-Macedonian border. He says he was swept into the Central Intelligence Agency's "extraordinary rendition" program where he was treated inhumanely, beaten and interrogated repeatedly at the direction of U.S. intelligence agents.

El-Masri maintains he was detained in a case of mistaken identity and that agents released him in a mountainous region of Albania in May 2004 after reaching the same conclusion.

After his release, El-Masri reported his treatment to the German government, prompting a still-pending investigation by German officials, and sued in U.S. courts over his treatment.

more:
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20071009%5cACQDJON200710091021DOWJONESDJONLINE000323.htm&

[cascadiance]

8. The Damned "State Secrets Privilege" thing again!

That has been used MORE times to dismiss CASES and not just evidence like it was originally used for.

People like el-Masri, Maher Arar, and Sibel Edmonds suffer, and the rest of us as a result of our steadily losing our rights in court each additional day this is being used!

[InkAddict]

6. SCOTUS to Khaled el-Masri, we thank you for making America safe

and we're oh-so sorry about your obvious temporary loss of physical (you're still alive, aren't you) and (not so obvious) mental health - however...

You really ought to move on with your life, reframing your past and ongoing predicament--you're an excellent global citizen to have CLAIMED to endure so much for so many and, despite the probability that you'll continue to be profiled and possibly subject to hate crimes by crazed Americans, et al, we applaud your noble spirit of altruistic sacrifice. Bad things happen to good people--get over it!

:sarcasm:

[damntexdem]

7. Not viable in U.S. courts -- only an independent judiciary would make the case viable.

We need a world court willing to take jurisdiction.

[cascadiance]

9. Either that or find a criminal charge to charge folks with...

"State Secrets" privilege has been the modus operandi of this administration for cover-up when they get sued in civil court. Now it still doesn't stop them from trying to game the system even in criminal cases (aka Scooter Libby), but it makes it harder for them to apply this bogus defense. Defense lawyers need to get more creative to use "national security" reason defenses to get cases dismissed. That's why you had all of those "creative" subpoenas to attempt to do that in the Brent Wilkes trial that is also going on right now.

[Duppers]

10. contrast that to this case: "Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of Mexican Death Row Inmate"

Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of Mexican Death Row Inmate

Fr. the NYTimes

....The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to relax its procedural rules that barred any reconsideration. One of the court’s judges, in a concurring opinion, accused the White House of an “unprecedented, unnecessary and intrusive exercise of power over the Texas court system” — language that echoed the criticism that the administration had once directed at Mexico.....



http://tinyurl.com/38cwqw