The European Court of Human Rights on May 31 found that Lithuania and Romania violated articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (PDF) by allowing secret CIA prisons to operate on their territory. Lithuania had allowed the CIA to open a "black site" on where agents subjected the applicant, Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn AKA Abu Zubaydah, to "ill-treatment and arbitrary detention." Lithuania must pay Husayn 130,000 euros (over $150,000). The applicant in the Romania case, Abd al-Rahim Husseyn Muhammad al-Nashiri, was transported to a "black site" on that country's territory, and faced capital charges in the US. The court censured Romania for transferring al-Nashiri to the US when it was likely he would face the death penalty. Romania must pay the applicant 100,000 euros (over $115,000). Both men remain interned at Guantánamo Bay.
From Jurist, May 31. Used with permission.
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Court expands immunity for CIA contractors in Gitmo case
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on June 30 ruled that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractors who designed enhanced interrogation techniques do not fall under jurisdiction of US federal courts in civil claims.
The three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the dismissal of Abu Zubaydah‘s claims against two psychologists who designed enhanced interrogation techniques based on the military’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program. Zubaydah sought damages for suffering torture, using the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which grants federal courts jurisdiction over civil actions brought by non-US citizens for violations of US treaties and international law.
The central question in the case was whether federal courts have jurisdiction under the Military Commissions Act (MCA), which allows individuals to be tried for violations of the Law of War. The court held that despite their status as contractors, the defendants qualify as government agents under the MCA, and this means that federal courts do not have jurisdiction to hear civil claims against them. (Jurist)