Khaled el-Masri: From CIA Kidnap Victim to Supermarket Arsonist …(from Die Welt)

[BurtWorm]

The story is translated at Watching America. Masri is well known as a Lebanese-born German who was renditioned to a CIA prison (on unjustified suspicion of ties to al-Qaeda) where he was allegedly tortured. Since his release, the Bushists have actively worked to keep him and his story out of the US:

http://www.watchingamerica.com/diewelt000015.shtml

Die Welt, Germany



"He was kidnapped, interrogated and tortured. Then he lived in total isolation. And then Khaled el-Masri set fire to a supermarket. Now he has been committed to a psychiatric institution for evaluation. His attorney puts the blame on the authorities and the Federal Government."


By Joachim Peter

Translated By Armin Broeggelwirth
May 18, 2007

Germany - Die Welt - Original Article (German)

Khaled el-Masri was in a prison operated by the U.S. Secret Service for almost six months. There, he was interrogated and tortured. Because suspicions of terrorist activity could not be confirmed, he was set free. That was nearly three years ago. This past Thursday, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital in Memmingen for evaluation and quite soon, he could be facing a prison term.

This is because the Lebanese with a German passport is clearly responsible for setting fire to a Metro wholesale market in Neu-Ulm. The incident is said to have been triggered by a dispute over a defective i-Pod and the property damage is estimated at €500,000 ($650,000). El-Masri has an attorney, Manfred Gnjidic, who says his client has already confessed to the crime. But Gnjidic has leveled serious charges against the Federal government for failing to render assistance.

From the viewpoint of his attorney, el-Masri is not guilty for reasons of insanity. In testimony before an investigative committee of the Bundestag last June, Gnjidic forcefully argued that his client required urgent therapeutic care. El-Masri has been unable to adjust to the trauma of his kidnapping, his attorney explained. Moreover, he complained that the country hadn't lifted a finger to help the kidnapping victim return to a normal life in society. Not even a job was offered him. Yesterday Gnjidic repeated these complaints.

Or the first time about a year ago, Gnjidic said that the Center for the Treatment of Torture Victims in Ulm had received minimum funding to begin treating the torture victim. Until recently el-Masri had been totally isolated, moving only between the “living room and the toilet.”

Which is why in April, the attorney wrote a letter to German Chancellor Angelica Merkel and in a plea for aid to his client. The Chancellor's Office then contacted the Office of the Bavarian Minister-President on May 11. Just few days later, el-Masri sanpped....

[ck4829]

1. Bush claims another innocent person

[BurtWorm]

2. kick