Torture Victim Sues Obama Administration Over `Kafkaesque Nightmare’
by Carol Rosenberg
In a first for a former Guantánamo captive freed by a federal judge, a Syrian man now living in Europe is suing the U.S. government for damages from what he calls a “Kafkaesque nightmare.”
![[Abdul Razak al Janko]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/Abdul-Razak-al-Janko.jpg "Abdul-Razak-al-Janko.jpg")
Abdul Razak al JankoThe 44-page lawsuit by Abdul Razak al Janko, 32, described a decade-long odyssey of detention — first in Taliban-era Afghanistan, where he was tortured as an alleged pro-American Israeli spy, and later in U.S. military prisons that ignored or misdiagnosed his history as a torture victim.
In addition, Janko alleges that U.S. soldiers urinated on him on his May 2002 arrival at Guantánamo, where he was subsequently subjected to solitary confinement and sleep deprivation. and beaten by a rapid-reaction force. He said he attempted to commit suicide 17 times in despair.
President Barack Obama’s administration had no comment.
“We’re reviewing the suit and will respond in court,” said Dean Boyd, spokesman for the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Federal courts rebuffed an earlier bid by former Guantánamo captives to sue the Bush administration for compensation, a case called Rasul v. Rumsfeld. That case was brought by four men who were released years ago through a diplomatic deal between the United States and Britain’s Tony Blair government.
Janko, however, is armed with a June 22, 2009 victory in his habeas corpus petition. It is one of so far just 38 wins since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2008 that the Constitution covers a Guantánamo captive’s right to file false imprisonment petitions in federal courts.
Judge Richard J. Leon, a President George W. Bush appointee, wrote in his 13-page decision that the Syrian’s detention as a war prisoner “defies common sense” in part because he had been held and tortured by the Taliban or al Qaeda in the 18 months prior to his capture by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Janko was released four months later and, according to the lawsuit, seeks damages to cover his medical expenses from physical and psychological damage in U.S. custody as well as punitive damages.
It says he “still has scars and other evidence of this physical torture and ill-treatment such as loss of bodily functions and inability to sleep.”
It was filed by Venice, Calif., attorney Paul L. Hoffman, who seeks jury trial in the same Washington D.C. courthouse where Leon ordered Janko set free.
The lawsuit doesn’t specify where Janko went but says he was released on Oct. 7, 2009.
At the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, attorney Shayana Kadidal says Janko is the first man who was released through a Guantánamo habeas petition to file a civil case. The rights organization has championed Guantánamo litigation for years and tracks the habeas petitions still being decided among the 174 captives now at the prison camps in southeast Cuba.
Veteran Guantánamo defense lawyer David Remes, who has nothing to do with either the Rasul or Janko case, says the Syrian’s lawsuit may have a better chance than the British attempt. In December 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case brought by the so-called Tipton Three and a fourth British citizen. All four had been freed in a diplomatic deal, not by court order.
“The strongest case is going to be one where a court ruled a person wasn’t lawfully held in the first place,” he said.
Remes, who has defended 17 Yemenis at Guantánamo through the years, and won some releases, says one need look no further than Canada to find a precedent for an unjustly detained war-on-terror captive receiving compensation.
Canada paid Canadian Maher Arar a $10.5 million settlement for Ottawa’s role in his 2002 rendition by the United States to Syria, where Arar was tortured and held for 10 months. A Canadian inquiry found that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had passed along erroneous information about Arar that set the rendition into motion.
The United States, however, has not acknowledged mistreatment of detainees at Guantánamo beyond what it says were scattered episodes of guards and interrogators misunderstanding the boundaries of behavior.
Such suits, said Remes, “may be the only way to hold the responsible officials accountable for their crimes in public office.
“Obama’s not going to prosecute them. Congress isn’t going to have a Truth Commission. So we’re back to the inefficient mechanism of individual damage actions.”
Janko’s suit names Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld; two of their deputies; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and his two predecessors, four Southern Command chiefs, five prison camps commanders and senior guards and intelligence officials.
© 2010 The Miami Herald
It breaks my heart that our once great nation has used torture. What adds to that heartbreak is the fact that our Congress DID NOTHING TO STOP THE USE OF TORTURE. They are just as guilty because they knew it was going on but did nothing. Instead of doing the right thing they chose to continue cover up and allowing those who did this evil crime get a get out of jail free card.
If our Founding Fathers could come back for a day they would weep to see that the Democratic Republic that they gave us has turned into a police state. That we have a government who LIES to us and is so corrupted our political sytem that real American Patriots who love this country can’t get elected. We have a government that is made up of two political parties that people refer to the one they vote for as the lesser of two evils. People don’t vote for the candidate but because he is lesser of two evils. That should send shivers down our spine that we as a nation tolerate evil from people who serve in our government. Instead of a noble profession government has turned into who is the best used car salesman and can sell more lemons as cars. Who can lie the best and get away with it, and who have no honor because if they did have honor they wouldn’t LIE as they do, cover up as they do, and they would know that the ends never justify the means. How you do something is just as important as what you do. Yes, I think they would weep that we the American people were so stupid that we allowed ourselves to become marks.
Think of the old Robert Redford and Paul Newman movie. They were con men who scamed their mark. Our government is like the con men. They have one image for the public but the real image is very different then what they show the world. People have got to start making those in government give an account for every single LIE they TELL US. Until we do that, they will continue to know that they can charm us with their lies and we will continue to vote for them, even knowing that they are lying to us. Is it any wonder that Americans do not TRUST OUR OWN GOVERNMENT TO TELL US THE TRUTH?
This is a very dangerous situation because Americans don’t believe anything our government says to us. We have no loyality to it. People refuse to say the pledge facing the flag with their hand over their heart. We have people who burn the flag. Where is the loyality that Americans used to feel? As long as I am breathing I will continue to honor the oath we took as Daughters of the American Revolution. I will continue to have the Betsy Ross flag hanging in my room. As a Political Daughter of the American Revolution the Betsy Ross flag is very special to me. I believe we DAUGHTERS MUST STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND PLAY A POLITICAL ROLE. We as women do have an important role to play and Betsy Ross is an example of just how important our role as women was and is in fighting to keep this nation free. Freedom isn’t free. It is paid for by blood, sweat, and tears of all generations of Americans. I get sad because in the present generation I don’t really see the will or courage to fight to save this nation.
I love two nations and always have. I never forget I am half Brit. Winston Churchill was also half and half. His mother was American. People today don’t respect what Winston Churchill did. We have a President now with Obama who returned the bust of churchill because he couldn’t stand the sight of it, and offended the Brits. If he didn’t like it he could have removed it to a musum, but NO he had to insult the Brits by inisisting that it be removed from American soil. Winston Churchill was one of the greatest men in history. I love his books he wrote on the HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH SPEAKING PEOPLE. It is one of my treasures. I know White Nationalists hate him too like Obama. That is another thing they have in common. They both hate Winston Chruchill though for different reasons.
Don’t forget that while we have American soldiers dying for this WAR we also have British soldiers dying too. What happens there also effects the UK. When we torture people as a government the US not only puts our soldiers at risk it also puts the British soldiers at risk because we are supporting the US.
I oppose torture because it is evil and wrong. I am sorry that our government in the United States doesn’t oppose torture nor think it is evil and wrong. They will continue on this same path of thinking that they can do anything they want because after all they are powerful Americans. WRONG!!!! We all face judgement someday. Maybe not in this world, but we all face judgement. Everyone in our government who did, knew, covered up, and refused to do the right and moral thing is just as guilty as the one who actually tortued the people.
eware The Rise Of The Fourth Reich
By Indira Rai-Choudhury
04 September,2006
Countercurrents.org
Almost beyond speech. I, am an attorney, an activist, a former Air Force Officer who served in Desert Storm, a veteran who waited more than 10 years for her VA claim, a champion of the underdog and tireless fighter, am almost without words, and I am afraid….
I do not fear for myself, though perhaps well I ought to…but I have real and palpable fear for this country, for what is left of Democracy, for the future of my children and, for the rest of the world.
I watch as everything I was educated to believe in crumbles around me. I watch as there are secret detentions, extraordinary renditions, secret trials, disappeared, people held with no charges and no evidence, searched without judicial review and without their knowledge, a homeland security office that last spoke of round ups of “disgruntled” and people from 33 nationalities. At the same time, our unused military bases are being turned into concentration camps. And, this is just the start, the time before the sunset provisions of the Patriot Act or being eliminated either through the Hatch bill or by the Domestic Security Act…
I watch and I am afraid…
I watch the Zionist JINSA Cabal carry out its arrogant and racist Program for a New American Century as it ignores international law and international will, as it commits war crimes with no shame, and guts benefits to the elderly, to the veterans, to health care and education, while subsidizing all of those programs inside “Israel.” They call Sharon, the butcher, a man of peace, as the blood of thousands at Sabra and Shatilla are still wet in my tears. The US protects Israel, a “nation’ who stands in violation of more UN resolutions than any other nation on earth. Protected as she holds onto to her atomic weapons . Protected in her racist apartheid genocide by the US veto used as a bludgeon against the people of Palestine. And they call those who defend Palestine terrorists. And they call the deserter that stole the election the Commander in Chief and a leader of Democracy.
I could almost laugh through my tears, but instead, I watch, and I am afraid.
I watch this country accept willingly the loss of all that the founding father’s proclaimed to be important, the destruction of separation of powers, checks and balances, due process and free speech, the right to privacy, the targeting of people based on religion and ethnic origins. These are things men fought and died for and they are now given up willingly.
I watch and I am afraid…
I watch as the rape of the American taxpayer finances the million dollar a year payola to Cheney from Halliburton, the dealings of Perle, and the declarations of Woosley that there is a World War IV and it is against Islam. These Zionist members of JINSA, who will be running a “free” Iraq, as they are about to declare war on Syria, or Iran. Endless war, endless bloodshed, endless injustice.
I watch as the rape and sodomy of children in the Gulag that is Camp Bucca, or Abu Ghraib is tolerated while the men who conspired to evade International law still stand at the helm of a country I no longer feel part of. I wonder do the screams of those babies echo in the minds and hearts of our Senators who have seen these atrocities on tape?
I watch, and I am afraid.
I am afraid because this is the rise of the Fourth Reich…the rise of racist and immoral power hungry men that rationalize crimes against humanity and criminalize all dissent.
I am afraid, and I have run out of words, or, rather, it would seem words have had no effect, have done nothing at all to stop the rise of evil and ruthless men to eviscerate all that once made this Nation great.
I am afraid, and I will become one of the disappeared. I will either be taken away, or I will leave this place, this country that I no longer know and now fear. I am a stranger in my own land…I am a woman without a country.
Beware the rise of the Fourth Reich…it is upon us.
NOTHING HAS CHANGED UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION….MEET THE OLD BOSS< SAME AS THE NEW BOSS.
” NOTHING HAS CHANGED UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION….MEET THE OLD BOSS< SAME AS THE NEW BOSS." ( I posted)
I, thank you for you comment. Yes, I agree with your statement that nothing is changed and the new boss is the same as the old boss. Obama was the best used car salesman and sold the country his lemon and many still don't want to believe that he would do such a terrible thing and still are looking to trust him. Even though he lied to them the first time, they are so desparate for some kind of hope that they close their eyes and refuse to see that they have been conned. Quite sad!!!!!!
I know that feeling of not wanting to believe you have been lied to and conned. It has taken me many years to accept the truth that I didn't want to accept. It is hard to admit to yourself and the world that you are a sucker to have believed the lie. Why the denial? For me I didn't want to admit that someone I loved as a friend and was loyal to would stoop so low. When I love someone I love them all the way and only want to see the good inside of them. Maybe that is the way some Democrat Progressives feel? They don't want to admit that someone in their own party would con them with lies, false promises, and charm. Maybe they don't want to admit they were stupid fools to believe him and in him?
As I have had to accept that the person in my life who hurt me all these years ago is scum and not a true Catholic or he would have the courage to face me and let me hear the truth from his own lips; American Democrats are going to have to face the truth that Obama lied to them and continues to lie. He is not going to be a light of moral honor, as I don't think Obama knows what honor is. I don't think he gives a damm about the country or Americans. He might care about Blacks, but he sure doesn't give a damm about anyone else. Here is a sitting President who says that Blacks need to vote for Democrats as it is the best thing for Black people. Telling Blacks not to vote for what is best for all Americans but only to vote for what is best for Blacks. He brings race into the equation. He is the worst President in my lifetime. I think he forgot everything he was ever taught when living in Hawaii. I think the Barry that went to school in Hawaii with my nephew's uncles is long gone. They decribed a kid who had honor, but the kid with honor and good moral character is dead and buried, because the Obama we have today LIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lying is never good moral character or honorable.