US court allows lawsuit against Bush officials for 9/11 violations
A US federal appeals court has allowed a group of immigrants to sue Bush administration officials of widespread constitutional violations after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The plaintiffs are eight men who claim their civil rights were violated while in prison for immigration violations because they were Arab, Muslim or stereotyped that way.
Wednesday's 2-1 ruling by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City is the first time any court has allowed a group to sue and seek monetary damages from high-ranking law-enforcement officials for post-9/11 policies.
The court revived the original lawsuit that was filed in 2002 against Bush administration officials including then US attorney general John Ashcroft, FBI director Robert Mueller and Immigration and Naturalization Services commissioner James Ziglar.
The plaintiffs allege that they were held for months in New York and New Jersey under unconstitutionally harsh conditions solely because they were or were perceived to be Muslim or Arab.
The men said they had been humiliated, beaten, and denied sleep and edible food or religious materials.
Their detentions lasted three to eight months and they have since been deported to various countries after being cleared of terrorist ties.
"There was no legitimate governmental purpose in holding someone in the most restrictive conditions of confinement available simply because he happened to be - or, worse yet, appeared to be - Arab or Muslim," Circuit Judges Rosemary Pooler and Richard Wesley wrote in an unusual, 109-page joint decision.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the ruling sent a powerful message.
“Orders came from officials at the highest levels of government. Now we have the chance to ensure that they are held accountable and not treated as if they are above the law,” said Rachel Meeropol with the Center for Constitutional Rights.
George W. Bush, who was in the White House between 2001 and 2009, has been accused of being "the worst president” in modern US history.
Critics have accused him of war crimes for ordering the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan under false pretexts, as well as authorizing torture and massive surveillance techniques after the 9/11 attacks.
AHT/HRJ
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