"Rendition" Film All Too Real for CIA Kidnapping Victims

"Rendition" Film All Too Real for CIA Kidnapping Victims
October 19, 2007

Opening in theaters nationwide today, the feature film Rendition is about the CIA kidnapping of a fictional character, Anwar El-Ibrahimi. Unfortunately, the practice of extraordinary rendition is all too real.

The unlawful practice of "extraordinary rendition," abducting foreign nationals for detention and interrogation in secret overseas prisons—has been used by CIA operatives since Sept. 11, and must be stopped.

Khaled El-Masri’s story is but one real-life example of the damaging effects of extraordinary rendition. El-Masri, an innocent German citizen, was on vacation in 2003 when he was kidnapped by the CIA. Black-clad masked men beat him, drugged him, and flew him to a secret prison in Afghanistan. He was held incommunicado for five months, long after his captors became aware of his innocence.

In 2005, with the assistance of the ACLU, El-Masri brought a ground-breaking lawsuit against former CIA Director George Tenet and others. On October 9, 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review El-Masri’s case, letting stand a federal appeal court decision based upon the government’s assertion of the “state secrets” privilege.

In addition to Khaled El-Masri, the ACLU represents five other victims of the government's "extraordinary rendition" program in a case against Boeing subsidiary Jappesen Dataplan, Inc. That case charges that Jeppesen knowingly provided direct logistical support to CIA flights used in the rendition program. The case is pending in federal court in the Northern District of California. The ACLU also continues to urge Congress to review and dismantle the rendition program.

>> Learn more about the practice of extraordinary rendition. www.aclu.org/rendition
>> Take action to stop the practice of extraordinary rendition at http://www.aclu.org/stoprendition