Appeals court rules Rumsfeld can be held liable for torture of U.S. civilians in Iraq

Source: Raw Story
By Eric W. Dolan


The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for creating policies that caused American civilians to be tortured by the U.S. military in Iraq.

In a 2 to 1 decision, the court ruled that the lawsuit filed by Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, two American citizens who were allegedly tortured at a U.S. military prison in Iraq in 2006, provided adequate evidence that Rumsfeld was personally responsible for their treatment and that Rumsfeld was not entitled to qualified immunity.

"If the plaintiffs’ allegations are true, two young American civilians were trying to do the right thing by becoming whistleblowers to the U.S. government, but found themselves detained in prison and tortured by their own government, without notice to their families and with no sign of when the harsh physical and psychological abuse would end," they wrote their decision (PDF).

The court did not address the factual allegations made by Vance and Ertel, only the validity of their lawsuit. The former Bush and current Obama administration have tried to have the case dismissed.

More at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/08/appeals-court-rules-rumsfeld-can-be-held-liable-for-torture-of-u-s-civilians-in-iraq/

Rec

Keep this up so others can see it.

From the people that did the actual torture straight up to the douchebag that admitted allowing it, bush, and everyone in-between.

Thanks for the thread, Playinghardball.

Pathetic. We need some adults in charge.