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Khalid El-Masri

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Khaled El-Masri
Born (1963-06-29) June 29, 1963 (age 63)
Kuwait
Other namesKhalid El-Masri, Khaled Masri
OccupationHuman rights advocate
Known forWrongful CIA detention and torture, legal actions against rendition and torture

Khaled El-Masri (also known as Khalid El-Masri and Khaled Masri; born 29 June 1963) holds citizenships in Germany, Lebanon, and France. In 2003, he was wrongfully seized by the Macedonian police and handed over to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While detained by the CIA, he was transported to Afghanistan, confined at a secret facility, and endured repeated interrogations, physical assaults, strip searches, sexual abuse including sodomy, and various other torturous acts.[1] After spending four months imprisoned in the "Salt Pit" and engaging in hunger strikes, the CIA acknowledged their error and released him.[2]

El-Masri is thought to be one of roughly 3,000 individuals detained by the CIA between 2001 and 2005 amid its counterterrorism efforts.[3] In May 2004, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Daniel R. Coats convinced German Interior Minister Otto Schily to refrain from pursuing legal action or revealing details of the program.[3] El-Masri initiated legal proceedings against the CIA over his capture, rendition, and mistreatment. His 2006 lawsuit, El Masri v. Tenet, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was dismissed by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on grounds of the state secrets privilege. The ACLU criticized the Bush administration for leveraging this privilege to conceal misconduct.[4] Appeals courts and the Supreme Court also declined to review the case.

On 13 December 2012, El-Masri prevailed in an Article 34 proceeding at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The court determined that he suffered torture while detained by CIA operatives and held North Macedonia accountable for his mistreatment and knowingly transferring him despite the risk of torture. He was awarded damages.[5][6] This ruling constituted the first formal legal acknowledgment that treatment of CIA detainees amounted to torture.[7] The European Court condemned countries cooperating with U.S. secret rendition operations.

Personal history

Born in Kuwait to Lebanese parents, El-Masri grew up in Lebanon. During the Lebanese civil war, he relocated to France in the 1980s seeking political asylum due to his involvement with the Islamic Unification Movement. He became a naturalized French citizen in 1988 before moving to Germany, where he was granted asylum in 1990 and later acquired German citizenship in 1994 through a previous marriage. In 1996, El-Masri wed a Lebanese woman in Ulm, Germany; together they have five children.

Abduction and CIA torture in Macedonia

In late 2003, El-Masri traveled from Ulm to Skopje for a brief holiday. On 31 December 2003, Macedonian border agents detained him because his name resembled that of Khalid al-Masri, an alleged al-Qaeda operative, and due to doubts about his German passport’s validity. He remained in custody for more than three weeks during which authorities interrogated him regarding his activities and contacts.

Macedonian officials alerted their local CIA station, which escalated the matter to headquarters in Langley, Virginia. CIA operatives debated subjecting El-Masri to extraordinary rendition. The decision was ultimately made by Alfreda Frances Bikowsky, head of the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center’s al Qaeda division, who acted on an unsubstantiated intuition linking him to terrorism based solely on his name similarity.

Following his release by Macedonian authorities on 23 January 2004, U.S. operatives immediately abducted El-Masri. He was physically mistreated and sedated via a rectal suppository. The CIA subjected him to stripping, hooding, shackling, and sensory deprivation before transporting him first to Baghdad, then onward to the "Salt Pit", a covert CIA interrogation site in Afghanistan that also housed detainees from Pakistan, Tanzania, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

'Salt Pit' Facility in Afghanistan

Following his 2006 release, El-Masri recounted in the Los Angeles Times that during his CIA detention in Afghanistan, he endured physical abuse and relentless interrogations, including the forcible insertion of an object into his rectum. He was held in a stark cell with scant food provisions and contaminated water.

An internal CIA inspector general report disclosed that El-Masri's German passport authenticity was not verified until three months into his captivity. Once confirmed genuine, officials deemed his continued detention unwarranted. There were discussions about covertly repatriating him to Macedonia without notifying German authorities and dismissing his allegations.

In March 2004, El-Masri initiated a hunger strike lasting 27 days to demand legal due process. After compelling a meeting with prison officials who admitted he should not be detained but refused to release him, he persisted for an additional 10 days before being force-fed. He suffered a weight loss exceeding 60 pounds since his abduction.

During imprisonment, El-Masri developed connections with fellow detainees who memorized each other’s phone numbers to maintain contact post-release. The New York Times reported that the experience of Algerian detainee Laid Saidi paralleled El-Masri’s account of abduction and confinement.

El-Masri also stated that Majid Khan, identified by the Bush administration as a high-value detainee, was held concurrently at the Salt Pit. Khan, formerly residing in Catonsville, Maryland, remained in CIA custody for over three years before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay on 5 September 2006.

Release

In April 2004, CIA Director George Tenet was notified that El-Masri’s detention was erroneous. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice became aware of the German national’s captivity in early May and ordered his release. Shortly prior to El-Masri’s discharge, the US ambassador to Germany informed German officials, requesting confidentiality to safeguard covert activities. Following Rice’s second directive, El-Masri was freed on 28 May 2004.

The CIA transported El-Masri out of Afghanistan and released him clandestinely at night along a remote road in Albania, without offering an apology or financial assistance for his return journey. Suspecting a trap and fearing execution, El-Masri was intercepted by Albanian guards who mistook him for a terrorist based on his appearance. Eventually, he returned to Germany, where reuniting with his wife took time as she had believed he had abandoned their family.

In 2005, a German prosecutor supported El-Masri’s case by confirming through isotope analysis that he had suffered malnutrition during his disappearance.

Timeline of Investigation and Aftermath

  • On 9 January 2005, journalists Don van Natta and Souad Mekhennet from The New York Times revealed the details of El-Masri’s case after extensive investigation.
  • Subsequent reports uncovered involvement by German and Macedonian authorities; Mekhennet conducted interviews with prisoners detained alongside El-Masri.
  • A November 2005 report by Reuters noted a German prosecutor was probing the kidnapping and considering civil compensation claims; US officials declined to confirm or deny these accounts.
  • In December 2005, the CIA Inspector General launched an inquiry into wrongful renditions including that of El-Masri.
  • On 5 December 2005, German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged US admission that El-Masri had been mistakenly held.
  • That same month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) assisted El-Masri in filing a lawsuit in the US against former CIA director George Tenet and operators of private aircraft used in his transfer. Due to watch list confusion, El-Masri was barred from entering the United States; his attorney encountered similar restrictions.
  • Late 2005 disclosures indicated German intelligence had shared El-Masri’s file with the CIA prior to his release.
  • In December 2005, El-Masri published a personal narrative in the Los Angeles Times.
  • Time magazine reported in March 2006 that El-Masri might have been associated with "el-Tawhid," a radical Lebanese Sunni Islamist group from the early 1980s.
  • On 18 May 2006, a US Federal District Court dismissed El-Masri’s lawsuit citing national security concerns but recognized that compensation would be warranted if his allegations were validated.
  • In June 2006, Germany’s intelligence agency (BND) admitted it had been aware of El-Masri’s capture sixteen months before officially notifying government authorities.
  • The ACLU announced plans to appeal the dismissal in July 2006, warning that upholding it would effectively shield governmental wrongdoing.
  • In September 2006, German public television identified suspected CIA pilots implicated in El-Masri’s rendition flight.
  • By October 2006, prosecutors in Munich expressed frustration over insufficient US cooperation impeding their investigation; they identified approximately twenty CIA operatives connected to the abduction.
  • Warrants for thirteen suspects involved in the rendition were issued in January 2007.
  • In February 2007, US officials cautioned Germany against issuing international arrest warrants to prevent diplomatic tensions; nonetheless, Germany forwarded warrants to Interpol.
  • The US Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of El-Masri v. Tenet in March 2007.
  • Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled phone surveillance of El-Masri’s lawyer unconstitutional in April 2007.
  • The ACLU petitioned the US Supreme Court for review in June 2007; multiple legal organizations filed supporting briefs. The petition was denied without explanation in October 2007.
  • Mid-2007 saw an internal CIA report conclude that El-Masri did not meet legal criteria for rendition or detention yet was held regardless.
  • After repeated denials from US authorities, Germany decided against pursuing formal extradition requests for CIA personnel linked to the case.
  • New civil lawsuits filed in June 2008 sought to compel Germany to revisit extradition efforts.
  • Spanish prosecutors issued arrest warrants for thirteen CIA agents involved in May 2009.
  • In March 2010, Macedonia’s former Interior Minister confirmed involvement in arresting and handing over El-Masri to CIA custody.
  • The European Court of Human Rights heard claims against Macedonia for torture and unlawful transfer brought by El-Masri in May 2012.
  • In December 2012, the Court held Macedonia responsible for torture during custody and transfer and awarded €60,000 compensation.
  • The ACLU released a redacted version of the CIA’s July 2007 internal report in June 2016.
  • Macedonia's Foreign Minister formally apologized for authorities’ misconduct during El-Masri’s detention in March 2018.

Other legal issues

On 17 May 2007, El-Masri was taken into custody on allegations of arson following a conflict concerning a defective iPod bought at a METRO warehouse in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria. After the store declined to accept the return, El-Masri spat at a female staff member and was subsequently banned from the premises. In response, he forcibly kicked open a door and ignited the store using gasoline, resulting in damages amounting to nearly €90,000. No individuals were harmed during the incident. Upon his arrest, a judge ordered his placement in a psychiatric facility. His lawyer, Manfred Gnjidic, linked the arson to psychological trauma stemming from torture experiences and criticized inadequate therapeutic support following his time in Afghanistan. Shortly before the event, El-Masri had requested extended therapy, citing sensations of being pursued. The court recognized his previously law-abiding conduct and acknowledged his trauma but determined that these factors did not excuse violent behavior, ultimately issuing a suspended sentence.

Authorities also disclosed accusations against El-Masri for allegedly assaulting a truck driving instructor after receiving criticism regarding missed lessons.

On 11 September 2009, El-Masri assaulted Gerold Noerenberg, the mayor of Neu-Ulm, after being refused access to his office. Accompanied by three of his six children, he repeatedly struck Noerenberg and hurled a chair before police detained him two hours later. He admitted to the attack but initially refrained from explaining his motives. While incarcerated, El-Masri expressed grievances about the city permitting brothels to operate, including one purportedly desecrating a Muslim prayer room. On 30 March 2010, he received a two-year prison sentence. His attorney conveyed that El-Masri believed intelligence agencies were attempting either to recruit or break him and intended to appeal the verdict.

European Court of Human Rights

El-Masri submitted a legal claim against the Macedonian government seeking reparations for his wrongful detention, torture, and mistreatment following his handover to CIA custody.

On 13 December 2012, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights determined that El-Masri’s kidnapping, rendition, and torture had been “established beyond reasonable doubt,” holding Macedonia accountable for his abuse both within its borders and after his transfer to U.S. authorities. The Court awarded him €60,000 in compensation. His abduction, imprisonment, and torture were classified as a forced disappearance, with evidence supported by flight records and forensic findings.

This decision represented the first judicial victory for El-Masri since his release from CIA custody. The Open Society Institute, which litigated the case, called on the United States to issue an apology. James Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, remarked:

For Mr. El-Masri, the key outcome was official acknowledgment by the European court confirming his claims were true and legally breached. ... It's an extraordinary ruling.

Goldston further emphasized that this judgment strongly condemned some of the harshest post-9/11 counterterrorism methods employed by the CIA and allied governments.

See also

Similar cases:

External links

  1. ↑ - (para. 205) El Masri v. Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wapo050906
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wapo051204
  4. ↑ "'El-Masri v. Tenet': Background - State Secrets Privilege", ACLU
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named davidson
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named kulish
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named singh
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