Donald Vance
Donald Vance | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Former Navy serviceman, security contractor, FBI informant |
| Known for | Detention at Camp Cropper; lawsuit against U.S. government and Donald H. Rumsfeld; 2007 Ron Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize recipient |
Donald Vance (born 1976) is a former American Navy serviceman who was held for 97 days starting in April 2006 at Camp Cropper, the U.S. military’s high-security detention facility located in Baghdad. On December 18, 2006, he initiated legal action against the U.S. government and ex-Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, accusing them of torture and breaches of habeas corpus rights.
In recognition of his openness about his ordeal, he was honored with the 2007 Ron Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize.
Background
At age 29, Vance, a Navy veteran hailing from Chicago, was employed in Iraq as a security contractor. Serving voluntarily as an FBI informant, he provided information indicating that his Iraqi security company was engaged in illicit arms dealings involving officials from the Iraqi Interior Ministry. When U.S. forces conducted a raid on the company, Vance was detained alongside Nathan Ertel, a former employee who had resigned due to similar suspicions. Vance remained confined at Camp Cropper for approximately three months.
Incarceration
During his confinement, Vance described experiencing severe interrogations and deprivation of sleep. A Pentagon spokesperson maintained that both detainees were treated humanely and fairly, with no complaints on record. Although the FBI confirmed Vance’s role as an informant after three weeks, authorities continued to classify him as a security risk. He chronicled his detention by covertly passing notes hidden inside a Bible.
At his hearing on April 24, he was denied legal counsel but permitted to attend because of his U.S. citizenship status. Roughly two weeks into his detention, Vance reached out to his fiancée in Chicago, who then contacted her Congressional representative on his behalf. Over the course of three months, he managed to send ten letters home; one letter dated July 17 only arrived in November 2006.
Following additional evaluations, officials released him after completing the three-month detention period.
Legal case
On December 18, 2006, Vance filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government and former Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, alleging torture and habeas corpus violations. With legal representation from Loevy & Loevy, the complaint asserted unlawful arrest and detention, illegal search and seizure, denial of counsel and due process rights, coercive interrogation tactics, improper detention conditions, lack of medical treatment, and seizure of property without due process.
On August 8, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit permitted Vance and Nathan Ertel to proceed with their suit against Rumsfeld. The court authorized subpoenas for government records and testimony regarding U.S. torture policies. This decision challenged earlier judicial applications of qualified immunity under the Bivens doctrine concerning government conduct in military conflict zones. The court questioned how any official could justify torture as lawful and criticized immunity defenses that could protect intentional torture or killing of American citizens.
Nonetheless, in October 2011, the Seventh Circuit agreed to rehear the matter en banc and vacated its prior ruling. Ultimately, the lawsuit was dismissed in November 2012, affirming expanded immunity protections for U.S. officials in such contexts.