Court: Ashcroft can be sued over post-9/11 policy
BOISE, Idaho - A federal appeals court delivered a stinging rebuke yesterday to the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 detention policies, ruling that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held liable for people who were wrongfully detained as material witnesses in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the government's improper use of material witnesses was "repugnant to the Constitution and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history."
The court found that a man who was detained as a witness in a federal terrorism case can sue Ashcroft for allegedly violating his constitutional rights. Abdullah al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen and former University of Idaho student, filed the lawsuit against Ashcroft and other officials in 2005, claiming his civil rights were violated when he was detained as a material witness for two weeks in 2003 and then placed under court supervision.
Kidd said the investigation and detention not only caused him to lose a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia but also cost him employment opportunities and caused his marriage to fall apart.
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
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