US Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Torture Appeal

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Germany, the ACLU, and human rights groups are criticizing and once again questioning the US “extraordinary rendition” program, after a German citizen claimed he was “kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured by the CIA” according to Reuters.

However, Germany has apparently changed positions on attempting to have those accused of torture arrested and extradited, as the effort may be fruitless.

The extraordinary rendition program began during the Clinton administration but has been greatly expanded by the Bush Administration since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, per the American Civil Liberties Union.

Extraordinary rendition allows suspects, namely terror suspects, to be taken from one nation to another for interrogation. The ACLU indicates that these locations are chosen because they are outside US and International law, allowing those holding suspects to avoid due process and other laws designed to protect human rights.

In the case at hand, Khaled el-Masri attempted to sue more than twenty different defendants including the former head of the CIA, George Tenet. The case was dismissed due to claims of national security being implicated, but the ACLU disagrees.

Those representing Masri contend that the Bush Administration is basically using national security or “the state secret privilege” as a trump card in order to avoid judicial scrutiny of potential wrongdoing. Ostensibly protecting state secrets would appear to be the rationale here, although the Supreme Court has rejected the appeal without explanation.

It would seem that policies that cannot withstand the light of day should not be included in programs designed or utilized by the United States.

What happened to "all men are created equal"?