Former U.S. Contractor Alleges 9-Month Detention in Iraq

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

For months, he worked closely with American soldiers, ferreting out threats to the troops and forging a relationship with a key sheikh who went on to lead the Sunni awakening. But when this 52-year-old translator and veteran of the U.S. Army headed for his annual leave as a contractor in Iraq, he claims he was wrongfully imprisoned for nine months by American forces, with no access to a lawyer and no contact with his family for months.

The allegations are laid out in a lawsuit against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, recently filed in federal court in Washington where the former contractor for Titan, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, alleges that his due process rights were violated when he was detained and held in "torturous conditions." "There was no justice in what happened to me," the translator said in an exclusive hour-long phone interview with ABCNews.com. "There was no justice involved in it."

The translator's suit is filed under an alias, John Doe, because he fears for his safety and his family. But through his lawyer, Michael Kanovitz, the translator agreed to an interview about the details of his imprisonment. His case is the fourth known example of a U.S. citizen held in Iraq without a formal trial. Two other former contractors, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, have filed a similar suit in Chicago over their three month long detention at Camp Cropper. Another U.S. citizen, filmmaker Cyrus Kar, also filed suit over his arrest and several-week long detention, but a judge recently dismissed his suit on the grounds that the military officials had immunity.

Spokespeople for the defense and justice departments declined comment, as did a company spokesperson for Titan, now called L-3 Communications.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6436263&page=1

[proud progressive]

1. not exactly the same, but did anyone see "rendition"?

my point is that human nature, paranoia, and the corruption of power will probably 'justify' this kind of bullshit behavior by us for another 50 years. we are the world's bully because we can be.
only when, and if, we generate more heroes like bill ayers will we become a true 'nation among nations' as he said.
unfortunately, another dark side of our evolution, i.e., laziness and complacency, will probably doom us to the same mistakes.
i hope i live to see the day that i get proved wrong.

[Crunchy Frog]

2. I think that's what happens when you're operating entirely outside

the legal system and without any sort of oversight or accountability.