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[/FONT]PARIS—A European court issued a landmark ruling Thursday that condemned the CIA's so-called extraordinary renditions programs and bolstered those who say they were illegally kidnapped and tortured as part of an overzealous war on terrorism.The European Court of Human Rights ruled that a German car salesman was a victim of torture and abuse, in a long-awaited victory for a man who had failed for years to get courts in the United States and Europe to recognize him as a victim.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Khaled El-Masri says he was kidnapped from Macedonia in 2003, mistaken for a terrorism suspect, then held for four months and brutally interrogated at an Afghan prison known as the "Salt Pit" run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. He says that once U.S. authorities realized he was not a threat, they illegally sent him to Albania and left him on a mountainside.[/FONT]
But several other legal cases are pending from Britain to Hong Kong involving people who say they were illegally detained in the CIA program. Its critics hope that Thursday's ruling will lead to court victories for other rendition victims.
A U.N. special rapporteur on human rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, the International Committee of Jurists and Amnesty International were among others hailing the ruling as a long-awaited breakthrough.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Read more @: European court condemns CIA in landmark ruling - San Jose Mercury News[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Macedonia and with the USA's CIA were condemned by the European Court of Human Rights. It was a landmark case that condemned various US practices on treatment and unlawful holding of prisoners. I support this finding and findings, if the US want to be viewed more highly throughout the world these kind of practices need to stop. [/FONT]