In lawsuit, German man alleges CIA tortured him

December 07, 2005|Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A German man alleged in a lawsuit yesterday that the CIA took him to Afghanistan and tortured him after mistakenly identifying him as an associate of the Sept. 11 terrorists.

Khaled Masri said Macedonian authorities took him into custody when he crossed the border on New Year's Eve 2003 and turned him over to the CIA after three weeks. He said he was flown to Afghanistan, where he spent five months in a cell.

Masri's claims followed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her trip to Germany. She declined to discuss the case with reporters yesterday, but the new German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the United States had admitted making a mistake.

The CIA rendition program, in which terror suspects are captured and taken secretly to foreign countries for interrogation, has created an uproar internationally.

Last year on arrival in Afghanistan, Masri was ''dragged off the plane and thrown into the trunk of a car," and beaten by his captors, he told reporters.

Then-CIA director George Tenet was notified by the agency that Masri's captivity was a case of mistaken identity, yet the man was held for two more months after his passport was found to be valid, his lawsuit alleges.

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