Court rules against American citizen held by U.S. agents in Africa

Source: Reuters

Court rules against American citizen held by U.S. agents in Africa
Reuters
By Lawrence Hurley
3 hours ago


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday threw out a lawsuit by an American citizen who says he was mistreated when detained by U.S. officials for four months in three different African countries. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against Amir Meshal on a 2-1 vote. The court held that legal precedent that allows U.S. officials to be sued individually for violations of the U.S. Constitution has never been applied to overseas conduct.

Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer who represents Meshal in coordination with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ruling "endangers the rights all Americans have under the Constitution."

Meshal was detained, initially by Kenyan officials, after he traveled to Somalia from New Jersey in 2006 to study Islam. He was first held in Kenya, before being moved to Somalia and then Ethiopia.

Meshal said he was held for four months, denied access to a lawyer and threatened with torture and death. He said that four FBI agents, including lead defendant Chris Higgenbotham, participated in the interrogation. The agents wanted him to confess to connections with Islamist militant group al Qaeda, Meshal said.



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