The New Jersey man alleges his constitutional rights were violated. And if he can't make his case, we'll all be less secure in our liberty.
Amir Mohamed Meshal is seeking redress for what he says were violations of his constitutional rights. The 28-year-old man, an American citizen residing in Tinton Falls, N.J., alleges that he was held against his will in an African prison for four months, where U.S. officials threatened him with torture and forced disappearance. He has filed suit against two FBI agents and a dozen unnamed federal employees.
"What we have learned so far about the plight of Mr. Meshal raises grave questions about the United States' involvement in the illegal rendition and possible torture of an American citizen," his lawyer, Jonathan Hafetz, told The New York Times back in 2007, before the lawsuit was filed. "It is simply implausible that an American citizen was secretly rendered from Kenya to Somalia without the United States' knowledge and approval."
Skip ahead four years.
Does the Obama Administration, in its capacity representing the federal government, insist that these allegations are ridiculous? That the U.S. would never rob one of its citizens of due process? That American officials would never threaten torture? That the federal government just doesn't behave that way?