Related News:
Boeing's Jeppesen Unit Wins Dismissal of Lawsuit Alleging Torture Flights
A Boeing Co. unit won dismissal of a lawsuit in which it was accused of disguising the delivery of suspected terrorists to secret prisons where they were tortured.
The federal appeals court in San Francisco, saying the litigation might reveal state secrets, voted 6 to 5 to overrule a three-judge panel’s decision keeping the suit alive. The majority said today the case presented a “painful conflict” between human rights and national security.
“We have tried our best to evaluate the competing claims of plaintiffs and the government and resolve that conflict according to the principles governing the state secrets doctrine set forth by the United States Supreme Court,” the panel said.
The ruling was a victory for the Obama administration, which relied on arguments made by former President George W. Bush’s Justice Department after the case was filed in 2007.
Douglas Letter, a Justice Department lawyer, argued in December to the 11-judge panel that classified information confirming or denying the Boeing unit’s relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency might be revealed.
Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the case, claimed the government inappropriately relied on a classified statement by General Michael Hayden, the former Central Intelligence Agency director, to get the case dismissed prematurely. Wizner said the ACLU will appeal today’s decision.
‘Sad Day’
“This is a sad day not only for the torture victims whose attempt to seek justice has been extinguished, but for all Americans who care about the rule of law and our nation’s reputation in the world,” Wizner said in an e-mailed statement. “If today’s decision is allowed to stand, the United States will have closed its courtroom doors to torture victims while providing complete immunity to their torturers.”
The case relied in part on a statement by Sean Belcher, a former employee at Boeing’s Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. unit, that a senior company official told workers that Jeppesen did “all the extraordinary rendition flights” for the CIA. Belcher said the “torture flights” were profitable, according to the ACLU.
“The attorney general adopted a new policy last year to ensure the state secrets privilege is only used in cases where it is essential to protect national security, and we are pleased that the court recognized that the policy was used appropriately in this case,” Matthew Miller, a Justice Department, said by e- mail. John Dern, a Boeing spokesman, declined to comment.
Terrorism Suspects
Jeppesen helped the CIA transport terrorism suspects on more than 70 flights to nations where, unprotected by U.S. law, they were tortured during interrogations, the ACLU claimed. The organization sued on behalf of five foreigners, saying that Jeppesen should be held liable for their mistreatment.
The plaintiffs include Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, a Yemeni living in Indonesia who the ACLU said was flown to Bagram air base in Afghanistan where he was tortured; Abou Elkassim Britel, an Italian citizen who the group claims was kidnapped in Pakistan and sent to be tortured in Morocco; and Ahmed Agiza, who the ACLU says was transported to and tortured in Egypt after applying for asylum in Sweden.
The ACLU also represents Binyam Mohamed, who it says was kidnapped in Pakistan, tortured in Morocco and sent to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The fifth plaintiff is Bisher Al-Rawi, who the ACLU claims was kidnapped in Africa, transferred to Guantanamo and released without being charged.
The case is Mohamed v. Jeppesen, 08-15693, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco).
To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net.
Rate These Stories
Rate this Page