Supreme Court to Decide Whether Sept. 11 Detainee Can Sue Ashcroft, MuellerFollowing the Justice Department Inspector General’s report on the FBI role in Sept. 11 detainee interrogations, high-level administration officials have been implicated in the debates over torture tactics. Now, besides the DoJ’s investigation, former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller are facing private suits from the detainees.
From the AP:
The Supreme Court says it will decide whether former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller must face a lawsuit that claims prisoners detained after Sept. 11 were subject to ethnic and religious discrimination.The lawsuit was filed by Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani Muslim who spent nearly six months in solitary confinement in 2002. Iqbal, since deported from the United States, says Ashcroft, Mueller and others implemented a policy of confining detainees in highly restrictive conditions because of their religious beliefs and race.
A federal appeals said the lawsuit could proceed, but the Bush administration says the high-ranking officials should not have to answer for the allegedly discriminatory acts of subordinates.