RUMSFELD SUED BY MILITARY LEADERS & ACLU

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RUMSFELD SUED BY MILITARY LEADERS & ACLU

 

 

Human Rights First

RUMSFELD SUED BY MILITARY LEADERS & ACLU

Tue Mar 1, 2005 22:42

http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=76841;title=APFN

 

 

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.

 

 

Human Rights First

Military Leaders and ACLU Sue Defense Secretary Rumsfeld Over U.S.

Torture Policies

 

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/

 

Human Rights First, Military Leaders and ACLU Sue

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld Over U.S. Torture Policies

 

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld bears direct responsibility for

the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody, Human Rights

First, the ACLU and military leaders charged, in the first federal

court lawsuit to name a top U.S. official in the ongoing torture

scandal in Afghanistan and Iraq. The lawsuit was filed March 1, 2005

and announced at a press conference in Washington, DC.

 

For Immediate Release: March 1, 2005

 

Contact: David Danzig (212) 845 5252

Sean Crowley (202) 478-6128

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/2005_alerts/etn_0301_lit.htm

 

ACLU and Human Rights First Sue Defense Secretary Rumsfeld Over

U.S. Torture Policies

More on Ending Torture

 

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.

 

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.

 

" 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. "

 

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.

 

" 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 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. "

 

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.

 

" 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. "

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

" 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.

 

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 www.aclu.org/torturefoia. 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.

 

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

http://www.aclu.org/rumsfeld and http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/lawsuit.

 

" 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.

 

Details about the clients in the case can be found in the legal

complaint and in individual biographical statements online at

http://www.aclu.org/rumsfeld and

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/lawsuit. Due to safety and privacy

concerns, the individuals named in the complaint are not currently

available for interview.

 

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.

 

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.

 

All counsel are representing the plaintiffs on a pro bono basis.

 

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More on the Case Against Secretary Rumsfeld

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/etn/lawsuit/index.asp

 

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Iraqis Being Abused by US Personnel

http://www.apfn.org/APFN/POW.HTM

 

 

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:

... Rear Admiral John D. Hutson (Ret. USN)

MORE:>>

 

National Institute of Military Justice

... Elizabeth Lutes Hillman, Thaddeus Hoffmeister, Charles Justin

Hugheston-Roberts,

Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, James W. Smith III, Faye Jones ...

HTTP://www.nimj.com/Home.asp

 

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON SIGNATORIES OF LETTER TO PRESIDENT ...

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML

... Admiral John D. Hutson (Ret. USN). General Richard Omeara

(Ret. USA) ...

Rear Admiral John D. Hutson served as the Navy's Judge Advocate

General from ...

 

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/PDF/detainees/BIOGRAPHICAL_INFO_on_signat\

ories.pdf