Arar lawsuit dismissed

"I promised myself one thing, that I will continue my quest for justice as long as I have breath." -- Maher Arar talks in 2007 about his experience of extraordinary rendition.

From the Globe and Mail today: In the United States, judges have determined that Maher Arar's complaint of CIA "extraordinary rendition" is merely a potential case of "graymail" against Washington - the equivalent of blackmail against government agencies in the shades-of-grey intelligence world.

In dismissing the lawsuit known as "Arar v. Ashcroft" yesterday, a U.S. appellate court expressed fear that going forward could prompt dangerous disclosures of state secrets.
[...]
A vocal - and seemingly outraged - minority on the Second Circuit complained that their colleagues' disregard for Mr. Arar's rights smacked of "utter subservience" to presidential authority.

Lost in the talk of "graymail," they said, was the suffering of a torture victim. "A person - whom we must assume a) was totally innocent and b) was made to suffer excruciatingly and c) through the misguided deeds of individuals acting under color of federal law is effectively left without a U.S. remedy," dissenting judge Guido Calabresi wrote.

Always that fucking excuse of the powerful about state secrets privilege to avoid responsibility.