Appeals court says American can't sue FBI over abuse claims

A U.S. Citizen who claims American officials falsely imprisoned and tortured him for several months in Africa can't sue the FBI agents involved because the conduct took place overseas during a terrorism investigation, a federal appeals court ruled today.
The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit acknowledged that Amir Meshal's allegations of abuse were "quite troubling," but said he is without recourse to pursue claims that agents violated his constitutional rights.
"Matters touching on national security and foreign policy fall within an area of executive action where courts hesitate to intrude absent congressional authorization," Judge Janice Rogers Brown said in upholding a lower court decision that threw out Meshal's case last year.

Meshal, a New Jersey resident, said he traveled to Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2006 to "broaden his understanding of Islam."
After violence erupted, he and other civilians fled to neighboring Kenya, where he was later arrested by Kenyan authorities and turned over to the FBI.
The lawsuit, which the American Civil Liberties Union filed on Meshal's behalf, claims U.S. Officials sent him back to Somalia and eventually to Ethiopia, where he was imprisoned in secret for several months.

He says FBI agents accused him of receiving training from al-Qaida and subjected him to harsh interrogations while denying him access to a lawyer, his family or anyone else.

He was released in May 2007 with no explanation, according to the lawsuit.
While law enforcement officials can be sued for violating a person's constitutional rights, Brown said courts have been hesitant to allow such lawsuits in cases "involving the military, national security, or intelligence."
Those concerns are heightened when the conduct takes place outside the United States, she said.
Brown said the fact that Meshal is a U.S. Citizen does not outweigh the court's reluctance to interfere with matters of national security.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh agreed with Brown, but wrote separately to stress that it's up to Congress, not the courts, to decide whether U.S. Officials can be sued for conduct in foreign countries "in connection with the war against al Qaeda and other radical Islamic terrorist organizations."

In dissent, Judge Nina Pillard said the government had not backed up its claims that allowing the lawsuit would undercut national security and diplomatic relations.