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Khaled El-Masri was kidnapped by the CIA, tortured and thrown in a secret prison in Afghanistan. His fight for the truth and a measure of justice is unraveling a web of clandestine intelligence operations and dirty diplomatic secrets.
By Cameron Abadi
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© Karen Bleier/AFP
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On New Year's Eve, 2003, while vacationing in Macedonia, Khaled el-Masri was abducted, drugged, tortured and then bundled away to a notorious secret prison in Afghanistan known as the Salt Pit. The brutal kidnapping of Masri, a 43-year-old car salesman from a small German town, is one of dozens of illegal transfers of terror suspects the CIA has carried out in a practice called extraordinary rendition.
During his incarceration, Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, repeatedly pleaded his innocence and demanded counsel. In desperation, he joined a hunger strike on March 5, 2004; after 37 days U.S. offi cials began force-feeding him through a tube. After repeated interrogations and the appearance of a mysterious German intelligence agent called "Sam," the CIA eventually concluded that Masri did not, in fact, have ties to terror organizations. Nearly five months after his kidnapping, Masri's captors returned him to Macedonia and released him on a dark and deserted road near the Albanian border.
Masri returned to his home, only to find that his wife and children had moved to be with relatives in Lebanon after he had disappeared (they have reunited). He eventually turned to European, German and U.S. courts to demand an account of his kidnapping and imprisonment. Three cases are currently pending: German prosecutors are investigating a criminal case, a German parliamentary committee is looking into the German government's role in the abduction, and Masri, with the help of American Civil Liberties Union attorneys, has filed a civil suit in U.S. courts against former CIA Director George Tenet.
Legal proceedings in both countries had stalled, but there have been encouraging signs in recent weeks. The ACLU has appealed the decision by the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to dismiss Masri v. Tenet on the grounds that a trial would expose "state secrets." In late January, after months of hesitation, German prosecutors finally issued arrest warrants against 13 CIA agents suspected of involvement in the abduction. And German parliamentary hearings are continuing, despite the denials by German officials of having any role in the case.
When Amnesty International magazine interviewed Masri in Neu-Ulm, he vowed to continue his fight to end extraordinary renditions and demand an official apology for his mistreatment.
AI: When you first returned to Neu-Ulm, did you tell anyone what had happened to you?
KM: At first, no. People knew something was going on because I looked so different. I was half-starved, my beard was grown out, my hair hadn't been cut. But I didn't want to put myself in danger before I had made sure that I was safe. My captors made it very clear that if I told people what had happened, something bad would happen again. I had the feeling that I might get kidnapped again. And for my friends and family, the situation was even more suspicious. This guy shows up again after a few months and he doesn't explain anything about where he was-they began to think that I really had something to hide.
AI: What happened when you finally told the German authorities?
KM: The chancellor's office took a long time to respond, and their first response was a kind of threat. A lawyer from the chancellor's office called my lawyer's office and said that my allegations were ridiculous and that there were penalties for making such unfounded allegations against the government.
AI: How far has the German criminal investigation gone?
KM: At first, the attorney general's office put in a lot of good, hard work. But I've discovered that journalists do the work faster than the attorney general's office. And I don't think they will ever press the government for those files that the politicians and intelligence agencies have marked "secret."
The intelligence agencies have a free hand to say that I acted suspiciously before I was abducted, but they never have to show any proof that I ever did anything wrong. They've organized a defamation campaign against me, and the attorney general's office has allowed it.
AI: You describe an interrogator named "Sam," who knew much about your life and about Islam in general. Do you know who "Sam" could be?
KM: Sam was definitely a German; I can say that for sure just from the way he spoke and the sorts of things he knew. Since I've come back, I've identified him through photographs and a police lineup-I can say with 95 percent certainty that he was a German intelligence agent. Of course, he denies that he was involved. He says he was somewhere else. Right now the matter is under investigation by the German attorney general's office.
AI: Recently, it's come to light that your lawyer's office has been bugged by the German authorities.
KM: Yes. As we were working together with the German public prosecutor, they were listening to all of my lawyer's telephone conversations, including those with all of the journalists with whom we have contact. This was a scandal, an abuse against me and my attorney but also against the journalists.
AI: Do you believe that the role of the German government in your abduction will ever be exposed?
KM: Yes, I am sure it will. But an explanation won't come from the government or from the lawyers working for the government. The real work has to be done by human rights organizations, journalists, lawyers and politicians from the opposition. The government, meanwhile, is really trying its best to defend itself-they've denied that they ever knew anything.
It's become clear that the German government is not going to press America on the diplomatic level for explanations. There's still an ongoing criminal investigation in Germany, but the only way for me to remain active in the legal process has been to file a civil suit in the American courts.
AI: Your first attempt to hold U.S. authorities accountable failed. What are your expectations this time?
KM: The question is whether the courts can exercise control over only small issues or can oversee other branches of government. If the courts don't assert this basic control, this upsets the whole balance of power of government. But I don't think the American courts would allow that to happen.
As long as there's a way to argue my case, I will never give up. So long as human rights organizations continue to research this case, as I hope they will, then these "state secrets" can be exposed. I'm prepared to fight for a long time.
I know I have powerful opponents. With the help of my lawyers, though, we've come a long way, made contact with organizations, and begun these investigations and these trials.
AI: What do you think of the American government's argument that it needs to protect "state secrets" in your case?
KM: I'm not against the idea of state secrets. I'm just saying that I was treated unjustly. I am an innocent man. Everyone knows that. I'm just looking for the American government to confirm that fact. They don't need to expose any state secrets to do that. They just have to say that what happened to me was a mistake-that it's not insignificant that I was treated so unjustly. I don't understand how the government, or its legitimate secrets, could be damaged by such an admission.
AI: Do you believe your case has had an effect on the U.S. practice of extraordinary rendition?
KM: It seems as though my case has made an impact. People and governments in Europe are paying better attention. They've woken up. But it's impossible to say whether the program is continuing. If they had known what I was going to do after I was released, I would probably still be sitting in prison.
At the end of the day, it's not just about what's happening with my case. It's about what's happening all over the world. In Europe and in America, the executive branch is usurping the balance of powers so that so the courts don't have the power to check the powers of the executive. Then the executive can do whatever he wants. And that's when it gets dangerous.
AI: And yet you still have hope that your case will be successful?
KM: To a certain extent we've already been successful on the political level. This "extraordinary renditions" program has been exposed. Everything won't be changed overnight, but we're on the way. Whether I'll be personally compensated-well, I don't believe that should have anything to do with American "state secrets." It's just a matter of honor and morality for them to simply admit that they treated me unjustly and that they want to set it right.
AI: What's your opinion about the United States? Has it changed since you've visited the country recently for your court case?
KM: I don't like speaking in generalities. I have absolutely nothing against the American people; my dispute is with the American government, which treated me unjustly.
During my trip, the American people were extremely welcoming and helpful. I'll never forget an elderly couple in Richmond, Virginia, who came out to support my case against the government, holding signs that read "Stop the Torture Flights." That's the real face of the United States. The people who kidnapped me represent the hidden and false face of America.
I'll never forget how I was received in the U.S. Congress. So many people came up to me, personally apologized and said, "What happened to you is unacceptable. This has to be brought to light." Not one single person in the United States accused me of being an Arab terrorist. I was heartened by that.
AI: You've said that some of the people detained with you in Afghanistan were brought to Guantánamo Bay. What do you hope your case will mean for them and for other detainees in U.S. custody?
KM: I hope that they all get a chance to be brought before a court. Who else should be deciding their fate? Politicians? Intelligence officers? There has to be a forum where they can defend themselves. These people were kept in dark prisons. They were exposed to loud music and insults against Islam and God. Due process would expose all the illegal and immoral things done by the government and intelligence agencies, and that's why, I think, these prisoners haven't been given a chance to defend themselves.
There's a permanent war against terror, against Osama bin Laden-and now every Muslim in every tiny village in the Alps is under suspicion of being a terrorist. That's what really threatens international security: the crimes that are hidden behind these "state secrets." Someone with secret files can put someone in jail just by pointing at him and saying he's dangerous. You would think that something like that could only happen in an absolute, or totalitarian, state. Never in America! America was the symbol of the rule of law.
AI: What are your thoughts on this "permanent war on terror"?
KM: If America is going to be in a permanent war, then the government should be honest and say that people no longer have their constitutional rights. But if they continue claiming that they value freedom, then they also have to admit that they can't control people and do with them whatever they want. And that means there will be some amount of insecurity. No one likes insecurity. No one who defends freedom is defending terrorist attacks. But the government shouldn't say it's defending freedom when it's only concerned about security. In fact, the current "security state" in America and Europe leads to paranoia and resentment and creates even more insecurity for a lot of people.
AI: How has your life, and the life of your family, changed since your abduction?
KM: Pretty much everything has changed. We've lost a lot of contact with our friends, with our community. But, personally, the greatest change is the constant fear that I have to deal with. My trust in my surroundings and in my government was violated. My family has these fears as well. I can't leave the house without my wife getting worried that something is going to happen to me.
AI: What are your plans for the future?
KM: Right now, I'm getting training to work as a public transportation driver. It's interesting work, and I hope that I can settle into it. But I also hope to continue playing a role in defending human rights. I want to make sure that other people who were in my situation will also get out, or at least be able to defend themselves in a court.
AI: Do you have a message for the human rights organizations, like Amnesty International, that helped your cause?
KM: I want to thank them because they are the ones who are
really making a difference. They are the ones who are going to
change the political situation. Really, my thanks go out to all
the people in the world who are concerned about and work to
support human rights. 
AIUSA calls on Macedonia to break ties with the illegal U.S. program of extraordinary renditions. AIUSA also urges German officials to disclose any involvement in the matter and cooperate with the ongoing investigation into Masri's detention. Finally, AIUSA demands that the United States disclose the identities and whereabouts of all of the prisoners it has rendered to other countries.
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