ACLU appeals dismissal of German's CIA torture case
2006-07-25

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The American Civil Liberties Union said on Tuesday it has appealed the dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed by a German of Lebanese origin who says he was abducted and tortured by the CIA.

The ACLU, which represents Khaled el-Masri in the suit against former CIA Director George Tenet and CIA agents, asked the federal appellate court in Richmond, Virginia, to overturn a May 18 ruling by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis tossing out Masri's case as a risk to national security because it would expose state secrets.

In a case that has drew wide attention and spawned investigations in Europe, Kuwaiti-born Masri says he was abducted in Macedonia in December 2001, then drugged, beaten and flown by the CIA to Afghanistan, where he was held as a terrorism suspect for five months.

He says the CIA then dumped him in Albania. Tenet was director at the time.

The CIA declined to comment on the appeal.

Ellis agreed with Bush administration lawyers that Masri's case could not move forward without risking national security by exposing state secrets about CIA activities vital to the U.S. war on terrorism.

In a 17-page ruling, he said documents provided by the government showed that national security could be jeopardized "if the defendants in this case were required to admit or deny el Masri's allegations."

The ACLU said details of the case have already been disseminated widely by world media coverage.

"If this decision stands, the government will have a blank check to shield even its most shameful conduct from accountability," said ACLU attorney Ben Wizner.