[THS] Donald Rumsfeld Torture Lawsuit Allowed To Proceed

[Peter Webster]

Donald Rumsfeld Torture Lawsuit Clears Hurdle, Allowed To Proceed
MIKE ROBINSON

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/06/donald-rumsfeld-torture-l_n_488793.html
CHICAGO--A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a
civil lawsuit accusing former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of responsibility for
the alleged torture by U.S. forces of two Americans who worked for an Iraqi
contracting firm.

U.S. District Judge Wayne R. Andersen's ruling did not say the two contractors had
proven their claims, including that they
were tortured after reporting alleged illegal activities by their company. But it did say
they had alleged enough specific mistreatment to warrant hearing evidence of
exactly what happened.

Andersen said his decision "represents a recognition that federal officials may not
strip citizens of well settled constitutional protections against mistreatment simply
because they are located in a tumultuous foreign setting."

Andersen did throw out two of the lawsuit's three counts but gave former contractors
Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel the green light to go forward with a third count
alleging they were unconstitutionally tortured under procedures personally approved
by Rumsfeld.

In Washington, Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said by telephone only
that the department, which is representing Rumsfeld in the suit, "is reviewing the
court's decision."

Vance and Ertel were described by their attorney, Mike Kanovitz of Chicago, as being
in their early thirties. He said the two Americans went to Iraq in the fall of 2005 to
work for the Iraqi-owned contracting firm of Shield Group Security.

The suit filed in 2006 alleges that while working for the company they saw fellow
employees making payments to "certain Iraqi sheikhs" and dealing in armaments in a
way they believed would not be approved by the U.S. military.

According to the suit, Vance contacted an FBI official in Chicago with his suspicions
and the two men eventually shared their concerns with three U.S. Embassy officials
in Baghdad.

The suit said their actions provoked suspicion at the company and on April 14, 2006,
fellow employees confiscated the identity cards that allowed them to enter the safe
area known as the Green Zone.
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The two men said they locked themselves in a room, called the Embassy for help and
were extricated by "United States forces" who took them to the Embassy where they
were taken into custody.

They were taken to two military camps in the Baghdad vicinity in the weeks that
followed, the suit said. It said Ertel was released after a month and Vance after two
months.

While in custody, they were subjected to sleep deprivation, long hours of
interrogation, blasting music, threats, hunger and a practice known as "walling" in
which subjects are blindfolded and walked into walls, according to the suit.

The suit describes such practices as forms of torture and alleges Rumsfeld personally
took part in determining such methods were acceptable for use by the military in
Iraq.

The two men are seeking unspecified damages. The next hearing is set for March 25.