european courts offer victims avenue to expose ‘extraordinary rendition’ kidnappings

It appears that the courts in Europe are prepared to ignore what are undoubtedly massive political considerations and are giving the victims of the practice of ‘extraordinary rendition’ (i.e., the warrantless, state-sponsored kidnapping and extraction to third world countries where torture is practiced for ‘interrogation’ of private citizens) an opportunity to pursue those responsible for their kidnapping.

Although no formal criminal prosecution has begun, a German Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of 13 people believed to be CIA agents who are part of an “abduction team” which allegedly seized German national Khaled el-Masri from Macedonia in 2003. At the same time an Italian court is considering whether to indict 25 alleged CIA agents and a number of Italians in relation to a separate kidnapping incident. Mr el-Masri attempted to pursue his case in the United States but it was thrown out. From the New York Times:

Mr. Masri has petitioned an American federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., to reinstate a lawsuit he filed against the C.I.A. Last May, a federal judge threw out the suit, accepting the government’s contention that it would impossible to try the case without revealing state secrets.

The Justice Department has declined to help the German prosecutors in their investigation, citing pending legal cases in the United States. This has made the Germans dependent on information from other sources, including journalists investigating the C.I.A. rendition program.

Unsurprisingly the US government is ‘not cooperating’ with the investigation.

It will be interesting to see how matters develop. It’s reassuring to see an independent legal system prepared to interfere with the activities of executive government agencies, both of their own countries and of their powerful ally. As with the recent comments of the English Director of Public Prosecutions, this episode seems in particular to reflect the importance of an independent public prosecutor.