Lawsuit filed against CIA for the use of torture
{{date|December  6, 2005}}

A German man, Khaled al-Masri, has filed a lawsuit against the [[CIA]] for alleged torture when he was held prisoner for five months in [[Afghanistan]] last year.  He was arrested in 2004 in connection with the September 11 attacks when he was stopped in [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]].  After being arrested, he was flown to Afghanistan for questioning.
[[Image:Ricemerkel2 600.jpg|thumb|right|U.S. Secretary of State Rice meeting with German chancellor Merkel]]
Masri said his cell in Afghanistan was cold, dirty and in a cellar, with no light and one dirty cover for warmth. The first night he said he was kicked and beaten and warned by an interrogator: "You are here in a country where no one knows about you, in a country where there is no law. If you die, we will bury you, and no one will know."

The [[ACLU|American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)]] is representing Mr. al-Masri in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]], [[Virginia]] seeking damages of at least $75,000. The main defendant is former CIA director {{w|George Tenet}}.

[[Condoleezza Rice|U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice]] was in [[Germany]] and would not comment on the lawsuit but the new [[Angela Merkel|German Chancellor Angela Merkel]] said, "I'm happy to say we have discussed the one case, which the government of the United States has of course accepted as a mistake..."

A senior U.S. official accompanying Condoleezza Rice to [[Romania]] said that Rice had not admitted to any mistakes in the handling of Masri.  "We are not quite sure what was in her head," he said, referring to Merkel.
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== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/06/cia.rendition.ap/index.html
|title= German man files torture case against CIA
|author=[[Associated Press|AP]]
|pub=CNN
|date=December 06, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/13343535.htm
|title=German citizen held in secret prison sues ex-CIA director
|author=Frank Davies & Warren P. Strobel, Knight Ridder Newspapers
|pub=The Mercury News
|date=December 6, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051206/pl_nm/europe_rice_dc
|title=U.S., Germany differ on CIA abduction case
|author=Saul Hudson and Mark Trevelyan
|pub=Reuters
|date=December 6, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301476.html
|title=Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake
|author=Dana Priest
|pub= Washington Post
|date=December 4, 2005}}

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[[Category:Crime and law]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Germany]]
[[Category:Afghanistan]]
[[Category:CIA]]
[[Category:Angela Merkel]]
[[Category:Condoleezza Rice]]
[[Category:North Macedonia]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:ACLU]]
[[Category:Human rights]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Virginia]]
[[Category:Alexandria, Virginia]]

[[de:US-amerikanische Bürgerrechtsgruppierung will CIA verklagen]]
[[es:Ex prisionero alemán en Afganistán inicia juicio contra antiguo director de la CIA]]
A German man, Khaled al-Masri, has filed a lawsuit against the CIA for alleged torture when he was held prisoner for five months in Afghanistan last year.  He was arrested in 2004 in connection with the September 11 attacks when he was stopped in Macedonia.  After being arrested, he was flown to Afghanistan for questioning.
U.S. Secretary of State Rice meeting with German chancellor Merkel
Masri said his cell in Afghanistan was cold, dirty and in a cellar, with no light and one dirty cover for warmth. The first night he said he was kicked and beaten and warned by an interrogator: "You are here in a country where no one knows about you, in a country where there is no law. If you die, we will bury you, and no one will know."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is representing Mr. al-Masri in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia seeking damages of at least $75,000. The main defendant is former CIA director .

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Germany and would not comment on the lawsuit but the new German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "I'm happy to say we have discussed the one case, which the government of the United States has of course accepted as a mistake..."

A senior U.S. official accompanying Condoleezza Rice to Romania said that Rice had not admitted to any mistakes in the handling of Masri.  "We are not quite sure what was in her head," he said, referring to Merkel.
Crime and law United States Germany Afghanistan CIA Angela Merkel Condoleezza Rice North Macedonia North America Asia Europe ACLU Human rights Politics and conflicts Virginia Alexandria, Virginia