<html>
<body>
<dl><div align="center">
<dd><font size=3>Editor's Note</b>: When the Abu Ghraib photographs first
surfaced, a wave of shock and revulsion rolled across the planet.
Subsequent revelations indicated that senior Bush administration
officials, including Alberto Gonzales and Donald Rumsfeld, actively
pushed for the use of torture against individuals detained in the 'War on
Terror,' and further sought to build firewalls between the administration
and any legal consequences arising from said torture. Chief among these
was the argument, put forth by Gonzales, that the President of the United
States is for all intents and purposes above the law. <br><br>
</div>
<dd>In the aftermath of these revelations, not one single senior military
or civilian leader has been called to account for the torture, rape and
murder of civilians in Abu Ghraib prison. Several soldiers were hung out
to dry, but the proponents of this policy have avoided the consequences
of their actions. With the filing of this lawsuit, however, this shameful
fact may well be pushed aside. Note well that among the names of the
petitioners in this matter are Rear Admiral John D. Hutson (Ret. USN),
former Judge Advocate General of the Navy, and Brigadier General James
Cullen (Ret. USA), former Chief Judge of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal
Appeals. - wrp<br><br>
</i>
</dl><div align="right">Also see below:</b>
<br>
<a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/#1">Human Rights First Press
Release</a> • <br>
<a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/#2">DoD Response to
Lawsuit</a> • <br><br>
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/01/terror/main677278.shtml">Go
to Original</a> <br><br>
</div>
Rumsfeld Sued over Prisoner Abuse<br>
</b> CBS News<br><br>
Tuesday 01 March 2005<br>
<dl>
<dd>A number of other lawsuits also are pending against Rumsfeld,
military commanders and civilian contractors in the Abu Ghraib abuse
scandal.<br><br>
</i></b>
</dl> Two human rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday
against Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on behalf of eight men
allegedly tortured by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. <br><br>
"Rumsfeld bears direct responsibility"
because he "personally signed off" on policies guiding prisoner
treatment, said American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony
Romero. <br><br>
A number of other lawsuits also are pending against
Rumsfeld, military commanders and civilian contractors in the abuse
scandal, which broke last spring with the disclosure of photographs
showing American military men and women abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu
Ghraib prison. <br><br>
An independent commission agreed in August 2004 that
Rumsfeld and other top Pentagon leaders contributed to an environment in
which prisoners suffered sadistic abuse at Abu Ghraib. The members also
concluded that the officials could be faulted for failed leadership and
oversight. <br><br>
On Monday the U.S. military appointed a three-star
general to lead an investigation into abuse allegations at the U.S.
prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. <br><br>
At a Washington news conference, the ACLU and Human
Rights First said the suit was filed in Rumsfeld's home state of Illinois
and alleged the eight men suffered physical and psychological injuries
while incarcerated in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
<br><br>
In the suit, the two groups said the men were
subjected to torture and other cruel and degrading treatment while in the
facilities, including severe and repeated beatings, cutting with knives,
sexual humiliation and assault, mock executions, death threats, and
restraint in contorted and excruciating positions. <br><br>
The ACLU has also filed three similar complaints
against Colonel Thomas Pappas, Brigadier General Janis Karpinski and Lt.
General Ricardo Sanchez on behalf of detainees who were allegedly
tortured in Iraq. The three additional complaints were filed in federal
courts in Connecticut, South Carolina and Texas.<br><br>
<a name="1"></a> <br>
<a name="1"></a><br>
ACLU and Human Rights First Sue Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld over U.S. Torture Policies</b> <br>
Human Rights First | Press Release<br><br>
Tuesday 01 March 2005<br><br>
Washington - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld bears
direct responsibility for the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S.
military custody, the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights
First charged today in the first federal court lawsuit to name a top U.S.
official in the ongoing torture scandal in Iraq and Afghanistan that has
tarnished America's reputation. <br><br>
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Illinois on
behalf of eight men who were subject to torture and abuse at the hands of
U.S. forces under Secretary Rumsfeld's command. The parties are seeking a
court order declaring that Secretary Rumsfeld's actions violated the U.S.
Constitution, federal statutes and international law.<br><br>
"Secretary Rumsfeld bears direct and ultimate
responsibility for this descent into horror by personally authorizing
unlawful interrogation techniques and by abdicating his legal duty to
stop torture," said Lucas Guttentag, lead counsel in the lawsuit and
director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project. "He gives lip
service to being responsible but has not been held accountable for his
actions. This lawsuit puts the blame where it belongs, on the Secretary
of Defense." <br><br>
The groups are joined as co-counsel in the lawsuit by
Rear Admiral John D. Hutson (Ret. USN), former Judge Advocate General of
the Navy; Brigadier General James Cullen (Ret. USA), former Chief Judge
(IMA) of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals; and Bill Lann Lee,
Chair of the Human Rights Practice Group at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann
& Bernstein, LLP and former Assistant Attorney General for Civil
Rights at the Department of Justice. Admiral Hutson and General Cullen
are "of counsel" to Human Rights First. <br><br>
"Since Abu Ghraib, we have vigorously campaigned
for an independent commission to investigate U.S. policies that have led
to torture and cruel treatment of detainees. These calls have gone
unanswered by the administration and Congress, and today many of the
illegal polices remain in place," said Michael Posner, Executive
Director of Human Rights First. "We believed the United States could
correct its policy without resort to the courts. In bringing this action
today, we reluctantly conclude that we were wrong." <br><br>
The men represented in the lawsuit were incarcerated
in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they were
subjected to torture and other cruel and degrading treatment, including
severe and repeated beatings, cutting with knives, sexual humiliation and
assault, mock executions, death threats, and restraint in contorted and
excruciating positions. None of the men were ever charged with a crime.
All have been released.<br><br>
"One of the greatest strengths of the U.S.
military throughout our history has been strong civilian leadership at
the top of the chain of command," said Admiral Hutson.
"Unfortunately, Secretary Rumsfeld has failed to live up to that
tradition. In the end, that imperils our troops and undermines the war
effort. It is critical that we return to another military tradition:
accountability." <br><br>
In legal papers, the groups charged Secretary Rumsfeld
with violations of the U.S. Constitution and international law
prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. The
lawsuit also seeks compensatory damages for the harms suffered as a
result of torture and other abuse. <br><br>
According to the complaint, Secretary Rumsfeld
"authorized an abandonment of our nation's inviolable and
deep-rooted prohibition against torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment of detainees in U.S. military
custody." The complaint further charges that brutal and illegal
interrogation techniques were personally approved by Secretary Rumsfeld
in December 2002. Those techniques included the use of "stress
positions," 20-hour interrogations, the removal of clothing, the use
of dogs, isolation, and sensory deprivation. <br><br>
Although some of these techniques were later
rescinded, Rumsfeld personally approved a new list in April 2003, which
included dietary manipulation, sensory deprivation and "false
flag" (leading detainees to believe that they have been transferred
to a country that permits torture). He also made clear that harsher
techniques could be used with his personal authorization.<br><br>
"Human rights law and military rules prohibit
torture at all times and in every circumstance, a principle that applies
to the highest commander as well as the lowest subordinate," said
co-counsel Lee, the former Justice Department official. <br><br>
Official government reports have documented many
horrific abuses inflicted on detainees in U.S. custody. They have shown
that the abuse was ongoing and was not limited to the notorious Abu
Ghraib prison. The ACLU and other advocacy groups have obtained over
23,000 pages of documents concerning abuses through a Freedom of
Information Act lawsuit, online at
<a href="http://www.aclu.org/torturefoia" eudora="autourl">www.aclu.org/torturefoia</a>.
As these documents indicate, the FBI began to complain about the
interrogation techniques used by the military on detainees in Guantánamo
as early as 2002, techniques that spread to Afghanistan and Iraq. Media
reports have also brought many disturbing incidents to light, including
the deaths of detainees in custody.<br><br>
The ACLU and Human Rights First have created a
detailed timeline of the various actions that Secretary Rumsfeld took and
the points at which he was informed of the abuses that resulted, online
at <a href="http://www.aclu.org/rumsfeld">www.aclu.org/rumsfeld</a> and
<a href="http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/lawsuit">http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/lawsuit</a>.<br><br>
"The effects of Rumsfeld's policies have been
devastating both to America's international reputation as a beacon of
freedom and democracy, and to the hundreds, even thousands of individuals
who have suffered at the hands of U.S. forces," said ACLU Executive
Director Anthony D. Romero. <br><br>
Details about the clients in the case can be found in
the legal complaint and in individual biographical statements online at
<a href="http://www.aclu.org/rumsfeld">www.aclu.org/rumsfeld</a> and
<a href="http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/lawsuit">http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/lawsuit</a>.
Due to safety and privacy concerns, the individuals named in the
complaint are not currently available for interview. <br><br>
The ACLU has also filed three similar complaints
against Colonel Thomas Pappas, Brigadier General Janis Karpinski and Lt.
General Ricardo Sanchez on behalf of the torture victims who were
detained in Iraq. These three additional complaints were filed in federal
courts in Connecticut, South Carolina and Texas, respectively, due to
court requirements regarding jurisdiction. <br><br>
The case is Ali et al., v. Rumsfeld, filed in U.S.
District Court in the Northern District of Illinois. In addition to
Guttentag, Adm. Hutson, Gen. Cullen, Posner and Lee, the attorneys in the
case are: Steven R. Shapiro, Cecillia Wang, Amrit Singh and Omar Jadwat
of the ACLU; Deborah Pearlstein and Fiona Doherty of Human Rights First;
Chimène I. Keitner and Nirej S. Sekhon of Lieff Cabraser Heimann &
Bernstein LLP; Paul Hoffman of Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris &
Hoffman LLP; Erwin Chemerinsky of Duke University School of Law; David
Rudovsky of Kairys, Rudovsky, Epstein & Messing LLP; and Harvey
Grossman, Legal Director of the ACLU of Illinois.<br><br>
All counsel are representing the plaintiffs on a pro
bono basis.<br><br>
<a name="2"></a> <br>
<a name="2"></a><br>
<a href="http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20050301-2149.html">Go
to Original</a> <br><br>
DoD Comment on ACLU and Human Rights First
Lawsuit<br>
</b> The Department of Defense<br><br>
Tuesday 01 March 2005 <br><br>
There are 4 civil complaints are under review within
this Department and at the Justice Department.<br><br>
We vigorously dispute any assertion or implication
that the Department of Defense approved of, sanctioned, or condoned as a
matter of policy detainee abuse.<br><br>
No policies or procedures approved by the Secretary of
Defense were intended as, or could conceivably have been interpreted as,
a policy of abuse, or as condoning abuse.<br><br>
There have been multiple investigations into the
various aspects of detainee abuse.<br><br>
None has concluded that there was a policy of
abuse.<br><br>
The Department of Defense has demonstrated a record
that credible allegations of illegal conduct by U.S. military personnel
are taken seriously and investigated.
<ul>
<li>There have been 8 major reviews, inspections, and investigations;
three more are in progress.<br>
<li>To date, more than 100 individuals have undergone, or are undergoing,
disciplinary proceedings. We anticipate there may be additional
proceedings against additional individuals.
</ul><br>
U.S. policy as expressed in relevant Defense
Department orders, techniques, and procedures requires that detainees be
treated humanely and in accordance with the law.
<ul>
<li>The Geneva Conventions apply to the conflict in Iraq.<br>
<li>The Al Qaeda and Taliban are unlawful enemy combatants who fail to
comply with the laws of war.<br>
<li>The President has ordered and Defense Department policy emphasizes
that Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees be treated humanely and, to the
extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner
consistent with the principles of Geneva.
</ul><br>
<br><br>
© Copyright 2005 by TruthOut.org<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
</font><font size=3><a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">www.freedomarchives.org</a></font></body>
</html>