CIA Rendition Victim Will Have His Day in EU Human Rights Court

Top Macedonian Official Expected to Confirm Masri's Kidnapping

by Jason Ditz, May 14, 2012

The “extraordinary rendition” of Khalid el-Masri, the bungled CIA kidnapping of a German car salesman over a case of mistaken identity, is going to get a very high profile, very public hearing, as the European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear the case.

El-Masri was kidnapped during his vacation by the Macedonian government at the behest of the US in late 2003. During his detention he was tortured by the CIA for several months, and sent to Afghanistan and Iraq.

The CIA apparently thought it had Khaled al-Masri, a completely different person, and when they discovered that they had kidnapped an innocent car dealer, they dumped him off in a deserted road in Albania in the middle of the night.

The German government says the US has confirmed that it has “mistakenly” kidnapping el-Masri, and a WikiLeaks cable revealed that the US had warned Germany not to attempt to issue any warrants related to the case.

Though the kidnapping is a recognized fact, the Macedonian government has repeatedly denied any involvement. This is expected to change, as an unnamed senior minister in the Macedonian government is planning to testify at the court that the account Masri gave of the “rendition” was accurate.

Full report : Anti-War