Companies that Owned and Operated Airplanes Used in CIA Kidnapping Also Named in Lawsuit
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CONTACT: Erica Pelletreau, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666 or (917) 604-4876; media@aclu.org WASHINGTON -- At a 9:30 a.m. news conference here on Tuesday, December 6, the American Civil Liberties Union will announce the first ever lawsuit to challenge the CIA's practice of abducting foreign nationals for detention and interrogation in secret overseas prisons.
The plaintiff, an entirely innocent victim of "extraordinary rendition" at the hands of the CIA and who was released without ever being charged, will be present at the press conference.
The lawsuit will charge that CIA officials at the highest level violated U.S. and universal human rights laws when they authorized agents to abduct an innocent man, detain him incommunicado, beat him, drug him and transport him to a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan. The lawsuit charges that the unlawful abduction and treatment was the direct result of an illegal CIA policy known as "extraordinary rendition." The CIA continued to hold the victim in the notorious "Salt Pit" prison in Afghanistan long after his innocence was known.
The lawsuit also charges that the corporations that owned and operated the airplanes used to transport the victim are legally responsible for assisting in the violation of his civil and human rights.
Further information about the lawsuit, including background on the client, legal papers and fact sheets, will be made available at the news conference and online.
No advance interviews will be granted.
WHAT: A lawsuit charging that CIA officials and corporations operating implicated airplanes violated the U.S. Constitution and universal human rights laws by subjecting an innocent man to prolonged arbitrary detention and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at a secret CIA prison.
WHO: Anthony Romero, Executive Director, ACLU Steven Watt, Human Rights Working Group, ACLU Plaintiff, Innocent Victim of Extraordinary Rendition
WHEN: Tuesday, December 6, 2005, 9:30 a.m. (Eastern)
WHERE: National Press Club - Lisagor Room 529 14 th Street, NW, Washington, DC
