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| CIA torture victims' claims heard in court for the first time – live updates | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.43pm BST | |
| 17:43 | |
| Quackenbush asked defense attorney Smith about a recent US supreme court decision in the Gomez case. | |
| Quackenbush: Let me ask you about the Gomez decision, which came down on January 20 of 2016 by the US supreme court. … Do federal contractors share the government’s unqualified immunity? The supreme court answered the question: “We hold they do not.” There is no blanket immunity. | |
| Smith: Gomez of course is not a political question. It’s an immunity issue. The question is whether or not the subcontractor went and did exactly what the navy told them not to do. … The supreme court said no, you don’t get immunity when you do what the government told you not to do. | |
| Quackenbush: I’d feel more comfortable if you had a copy of the contract in your hand. | |
| Smith: ... The supreme court focused on “did you do what the government told you to do?”. In this case I don’t think it’s disputed that what the contractors did was exactly what the CIA told them to do. | |
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| at 5.46pm BST | |
| 5.28pm BST | 5.28pm BST |
| 17:28 | 17:28 |
| Suleiman Abdullah Salim is one of three men who sued James Elmer Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jensen. He told the Guardian that, while being tortured by CIA interrogators during his five years in custody, “you can’t sleep, you can’t eat, you can’t smell.” Now back home in Tanzania, he said “flashbacks come anytime, so much they make you crazy”. | Suleiman Abdullah Salim is one of three men who sued James Elmer Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jensen. He told the Guardian that, while being tortured by CIA interrogators during his five years in custody, “you can’t sleep, you can’t eat, you can’t smell.” Now back home in Tanzania, he said “flashbacks come anytime, so much they make you crazy”. |
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| at 5.36pm BST | |
| 5.24pm BST | 5.24pm BST |
| 17:24 | 17:24 |
| And then Quackenbush began asking who was in control. | And then Quackenbush began asking who was in control. |
| Smith: The question was about control, the question was about who. | |
| Quackenbush: Don’t we need to read the contract as to who had control? | Quackenbush: Don’t we need to read the contract as to who had control? |
| Smith: I don’t think the plaintiffs dispute that the government controlled every facet of the program. | Smith: I don’t think the plaintiffs dispute that the government controlled every facet of the program. |
| Quackenbush: Don’t the plaintiffs say there was a contract entered into between the plaintiffs and the CIA and the defendants put into place the specifics of the interrogation plan that included torture? | Quackenbush: Don’t the plaintiffs say there was a contract entered into between the plaintiffs and the CIA and the defendants put into place the specifics of the interrogation plan that included torture? |
| Smith: The decision to utilize or execute the plan ... were decisions that were made by the military, by the CIA. | |
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| at 5.50pm BST | |
| 5.18pm BST | 5.18pm BST |
| 17:18 | 17:18 |
| Hearing under way | Hearing under way |
| The case opened with Quackenbush asking whether it mattered who made the decisions in the torture program. | The case opened with Quackenbush asking whether it mattered who made the decisions in the torture program. |
| “Is there evidence in this case that the President of the United States of America specifically authorized the activities,” he asked. | “Is there evidence in this case that the President of the United States of America specifically authorized the activities,” he asked. |
| James Smith, attorney for the defendants responded: “Ultimately the CIA was authorized by the President of the United States to take these actions.” | James Smith, attorney for the defendants responded: “Ultimately the CIA was authorized by the President of the United States to take these actions.” |
| Quackenbush pressed about whether the president had actually given the orders. | Quackenbush pressed about whether the president had actually given the orders. |
| Smith: “I haven’t had the opportunity to take depositions in this case.” | Smith: “I haven’t had the opportunity to take depositions in this case.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.36pm BST | |
| 5.06pm BST | 5.06pm BST |
| 17:06 | 17:06 |
| What is remarkable about the hearing – beyond the fact that this is the first time Mitchell and Jessen have faced legal reprisal – is that the federal government has never before allowed a CIA torture case to progress this far through the legal system. | What is remarkable about the hearing – beyond the fact that this is the first time Mitchell and Jessen have faced legal reprisal – is that the federal government has never before allowed a CIA torture case to progress this far through the legal system. |
| Earlier this month, attorneys from the US Department of Justice told the court that the government wants to help shape the discovery process if the psychologists end up facing trial. The DoJ will be represented at the hearing Friday. | Earlier this month, attorneys from the US Department of Justice told the court that the government wants to help shape the discovery process if the psychologists end up facing trial. The DoJ will be represented at the hearing Friday. |
| The government has allowed the three men’s case to move forward because it can no longer fall back on the argument that any trial would open up classified information to the scrutiny of the country’s enemies. | The government has allowed the three men’s case to move forward because it can no longer fall back on the argument that any trial would open up classified information to the scrutiny of the country’s enemies. |
| One reason? The Senate torture report. The entire 6,700-plus-page document has not been declassified, but a 525-page executive summary was released on 9 December 2014. | One reason? The Senate torture report. The entire 6,700-plus-page document has not been declassified, but a 525-page executive summary was released on 9 December 2014. |
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| at 5.36pm BST | |
| 4.51pm BST | 4.51pm BST |
| 16:51 | 16:51 |
| Although they were held for years and subjected to what their lawsuit describes as “war crimes”, the three men were never accused of being members of al-Qaida. They were never charged with any crimes. They were left with serious psychological and physical injuries but have received no compensation from the US government. | Although they were held for years and subjected to what their lawsuit describes as “war crimes”, the three men were never accused of being members of al-Qaida. They were never charged with any crimes. They were left with serious psychological and physical injuries but have received no compensation from the US government. |
| The victims’ civil lawsuit alleges that psychologists James Elmer Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen, independent contractors hired by the CIA, designed a brutal torture program that amounted to a “joint criminal enterprise”. | The victims’ civil lawsuit alleges that psychologists James Elmer Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen, independent contractors hired by the CIA, designed a brutal torture program that amounted to a “joint criminal enterprise”. |
| Over the course of five years, 119 men were abused using their techniques; the three plaintiffs in the suit were among the 39 subjected to the most harsh torture and scientific experimentation, which included anal penetration, mock execution, being doused with icy cold water and enduring something akin to waterboarding. | Over the course of five years, 119 men were abused using their techniques; the three plaintiffs in the suit were among the 39 subjected to the most harsh torture and scientific experimentation, which included anal penetration, mock execution, being doused with icy cold water and enduring something akin to waterboarding. |
| In 2012, the Department of Justice announced that CIA officials responsible for the torture regime would not face criminal charges. | In 2012, the Department of Justice announced that CIA officials responsible for the torture regime would not face criminal charges. |
| Mitchell and Jessen’s attorneys will argue before senior federal judge Justin L Quackenbush on Friday that the case should be dismissed because the psychologists did not commit the acts that they are accused of in Salim, Ben Soud and Rahman’s suit, which was filed in October. | Mitchell and Jessen’s attorneys will argue before senior federal judge Justin L Quackenbush on Friday that the case should be dismissed because the psychologists did not commit the acts that they are accused of in Salim, Ben Soud and Rahman’s suit, which was filed in October. |
| “They did not create or establish the CIA enhanced interrogation program,” defense attorney Christopher W Tompkins said in court documents, “they did not make decisions about Plaintiffs’ capture, treatment, confinement conditions, and interrogations; and they did not perform, supervise or control Plaintiffs’ interrogations.” | “They did not create or establish the CIA enhanced interrogation program,” defense attorney Christopher W Tompkins said in court documents, “they did not make decisions about Plaintiffs’ capture, treatment, confinement conditions, and interrogations; and they did not perform, supervise or control Plaintiffs’ interrogations.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.36pm BST | |
| 4.33pm BST | 4.33pm BST |
| 16:33 | 16:33 |
| CIA torture hearing to begin | CIA torture hearing to begin |
| A federal judge in eastern Washington state will begin considering the claims of CIA torture victims Friday for the first time. | A federal judge in eastern Washington state will begin considering the claims of CIA torture victims Friday for the first time. |
| In a hearing scheduled to begin at 9am, lawyers for three men who underwent some of the most brutal interrogation techniques of the post-9/11 era will argue that the architects of the CIA’s torture program – two contract psychologists – are not immune and should face punishment. | In a hearing scheduled to begin at 9am, lawyers for three men who underwent some of the most brutal interrogation techniques of the post-9/11 era will argue that the architects of the CIA’s torture program – two contract psychologists – are not immune and should face punishment. |
| “We want our clients to finally receive justice, get a chance to have their torturers – the men who designed the pseudo-scientific torture program – to answer for what they did,” said Dror Ladin, an ACLU attorney representing two victims who survived beatings, water torture, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and other assaults and the family of one man who did not. | “We want our clients to finally receive justice, get a chance to have their torturers – the men who designed the pseudo-scientific torture program – to answer for what they did,” said Dror Ladin, an ACLU attorney representing two victims who survived beatings, water torture, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation and other assaults and the family of one man who did not. |
| “For America, it’s pretty critical that we finally have a hearing and some accountability for torture, otherwise we can never turn the page on it,” Ladin continued. “We run the very real risk of going down that path again.” | “For America, it’s pretty critical that we finally have a hearing and some accountability for torture, otherwise we can never turn the page on it,” Ladin continued. “We run the very real risk of going down that path again.” |
| Ladin is representing Suleiman Abdullah Salim, a Tanzanian fisherman; Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, a Libyan who was living in exile from Muammar Gaddafi’s regime; and Gul Rahman, an Afghan refugee who froze to death while being detained and interrogated at a CIA black site. | Ladin is representing Suleiman Abdullah Salim, a Tanzanian fisherman; Mohamed Ahmed Ben Soud, a Libyan who was living in exile from Muammar Gaddafi’s regime; and Gul Rahman, an Afghan refugee who froze to death while being detained and interrogated at a CIA black site. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.36pm BST |