Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
A U.S. citizen claims in a lawsuit filed by the federal government that he was held for four months, endured harsh interrogation and was later released after it was discovered he had done nothing wrong, the Reason reports.
Amir Meshal is represented by he ACLU, which contends its client was unfairly mistreated.
The Justice Department said the case shouldn’t move forward because of national security concerns.
The ACLU, which is to appear in court today on the issue, wrote:
The American Civil Liberties Union will appear in court on Wednesday on behalf of a U.S. citizen who was illegally detained and mistreated by American officials in three east African countries in 2007. After fleeing unrest in Somalia, New Jersey resident Amir Meshal was arrested, secretly imprisoned in inhumane conditions, and harshly interrogated by FBI agents over 30 times before ultimately being released without charge four months later. …
In December 2006, Meshal was studying in Mogadishu when civil unrest broke out. He fled to neighboring Kenya, where he wandered in the forest for three weeks seeking shelter and assistance before being arrested. He was then repeatedly interrogated by FBI agents, who accused him of receiving training from al Qaeda, which Meshal denied. The American interrogators threatened him with torture and kept him from contacting a lawyer or his family.
Meshal was subsequently rendered to Somalia and then Ethiopia, where he was secretly imprisoned in filthy conditions with inadequate access to food, water, and toilets for more than three months, and again harshly interrogated by U.S. officials, who bore responsibility for his rendition and continued detention.
