Rendition and Guantanamo

Rendition case to stay a state secret | theage.com.au

This is very interesting article by Peter Finn. When I read this piece, I remembered the movie titled "Rendition"Washington, which I watched last year. It is sad that human nature has caused disease to others. My prayers are for you all the victim of rendition.

* February 11, 2009

THE Obama Administration has invoked the same state secrets privilege as its predecessor to oppose the reinstatement of a lawsuit alleging that a Boeing unit flew people to countries where they were tortured as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program.

The Justice Department's stance on the case in San Francisco came despite a pledge by Attorney-General Eric Holder, at his confirmation hearing and again on Monday in a statement, to review all assertions of the state secrets privilege.

The American Civil Liberties Union brought the case on behalf of five foreigners who were allegedly transferred to countries where they were tortured under interrogation.

One of the five, Binyam Mohammed, a British resident, claims in court papers in the US and Britain that he was flown to Morocco and held there for nearly two years after his capture in Pakistan. He is now in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Mohammed and the others are seeking unspecified damages.

Leon Panetta, Mr Obama's nominee to head the CIA, told Congress he would end the practice of transferring suspects to countries where they were at risk of being tortured.

The Bush administration argued that the lawsuit against Jeppesen DataPlan, a Boeing unit based in Colorado, threatened the country's national security interests. In federal court on Monday, the panel of three judges asked the Government if there was any change in its position because of the new Administration.

A Justice Department attorney said the Government stood by its brief, which was filed by the Bush administration.

A Justice official said the new Administration decided the lawsuit involved state secrets that needed to be protected.

Ben Wizner, an ACLU staff lawyer who argued the case for the plaintiffs, condemned the decision as Mr Obama's ratification of the Bush administration's "extreme policies", which he said prevented torture victims from seeking redress.

"This Administration is going to have to face the issue of accountability, and the Administration cannot pretend the last seven years didn't happen," he said.

The suit was filed by the ACLU in May 2007 and was dismissed last February. The organisation told the federal appeals court the suit should to be reinstated. A decision in the case may take several months.

The Government has invoked the state secrets privilege in a number of cases in recent years, including various suits concerning the National Security Agency's wiretapping program.

WASHINGTON POST
Lawyer fears for Guantanamo inmate

BINYAM Mohamed, the British resident at the centre of a legal battle over alleged torture, could leave Guantanamo Bay insane or in a coffin if the case is dragged out, his lawyer says.

"It's amazing he has lasted this long," Yvonne Bradley said. She last saw Mohamed in January after authorities began force-feeding him. His weight dropped to about 55 kilograms. "He is very poor, mentally, physically and emotionally," she said.