The Case of Mr. Masri
Khaled al-Masri, the German vacationer secretly kidnapped by the CIA, transported to Afghanistan where he was imprisoned and tortured for five months, then quietly released on a backcountry Albanian road after the agency realized their mistake, had his legal case against the government dismissed on May 18.
Masri's denial of justice merits 460 words here by the Times, where Neil A. Lewis takes care to note that, while dismissal of the suit was justified on the basis of security concerns, Masri's allegations have long been acknowledged by US intelligence officials.
Jerry Markon at WaPo, who wrote 570 words on the subject the next day here, fails to mention that the facts of the case are not under dispute, and thus obscures the full (and rather dastardly) import of Judge Ellis' decision to deny the possibility of legal remedy to Mr. Masri.
Let's remember that Masri's story made hundreds of headlines when it was first revealed a year and a half ago, but the Times and the Post apparently see no need to do more than mention under their breath (page A13 of the print edition of WaPo) the story's ignomonious end. Both stories don't mention that Masri was held for weeks following the government's discovery of their mistake, and also fail to report that the CIA is currently investigating up to three dozen other "erroneous renditions." Odd, considering that the Post's own Dana Priest wrote a story on the subject six months ago.
Would not an article on the dismissal of Masri's case be an opportune time to raise larger questions about the fate of others who have been, and will be in the future, wrongly-kidnapped by our government? Has Masri's case set a precedent in which the torture of demonstrably innocent foreign nationals by the CIA or its contractors is to have no chance of legal remedy? Apparently neither the Times nor the Post saw it that way.
Perhaps we could all benefit from a little Torture Awareness this month.
Masri's denial of justice merits 460 words here by the Times, where Neil A. Lewis takes care to note that, while dismissal of the suit was justified on the basis of security concerns, Masri's allegations have long been acknowledged by US intelligence officials.
Jerry Markon at WaPo, who wrote 570 words on the subject the next day here, fails to mention that the facts of the case are not under dispute, and thus obscures the full (and rather dastardly) import of Judge Ellis' decision to deny the possibility of legal remedy to Mr. Masri.
Let's remember that Masri's story made hundreds of headlines when it was first revealed a year and a half ago, but the Times and the Post apparently see no need to do more than mention under their breath (page A13 of the print edition of WaPo) the story's ignomonious end. Both stories don't mention that Masri was held for weeks following the government's discovery of their mistake, and also fail to report that the CIA is currently investigating up to three dozen other "erroneous renditions." Odd, considering that the Post's own Dana Priest wrote a story on the subject six months ago.
Would not an article on the dismissal of Masri's case be an opportune time to raise larger questions about the fate of others who have been, and will be in the future, wrongly-kidnapped by our government? Has Masri's case set a precedent in which the torture of demonstrably innocent foreign nationals by the CIA or its contractors is to have no chance of legal remedy? Apparently neither the Times nor the Post saw it that way.
Perhaps we could all benefit from a little Torture Awareness this month.
posted by DavidB @ 5/21/2006 02:56:00 pm
1 Comments:
At 2:46 pm,
Anonymous said…
I am not the media or am I a person of any sort of political background. I find the case pertaining to Mr. Masri absolutely despicable, it outrages me to find out how poorly our government is handling things when it comes to foreign matters. Before I go on, i want to clear up what i meant when i said our government, I was referring to the Bush administration. I am an American citizen, my born right, and it sickens me to think that we have to live like this. Through all my teachings in school and history lessons, I was always told this country is the land of the free and the home of the brave. But who could call this home when it is very much possible for the very same people that we call neighbors to have such power over our lives. That at any given time and place they have the authority to take your home and freedom away. What happen to Mr. Mazri should have never taken place. Who knows how many more countless others have been affected or are targeted for the exact same thing as Mr. Mazri. And the government wants to cover it up and say that it could expose blah blah blah for whatever. I find it very contradicting that when the government gets exposed its a risk, but when Joe down the street gets exposed for whatever reason, its a big problem. There was a point of time in my life when I wanted to move from the state I live in because of ignorance. To know that no matter where I move, this same ignorance will follow me and there's nothing I can do about it. for the simple fact that all the government has to do is say blah blah blah , wave a magic wand(congress) and I'm screwed. Oh, but then there's the just be all you can be, and be a good citizen and you should be fine. Well,excuse my french, if shit like this can happen who in the hell has a chance out here. As soon as the government remembers that the very same people that make up their staff are the very same people who we are and that the same opportunity is, for most, one call away. Then, maybe then, they(the blah blah) would understand and know what home of the free and land of the brave means to a lot of people just like me. I want to end saying, "I pledge allegiance", whatever the hell that means". ~yours truly, Ci Ci, i love starburst...
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