This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.
Maoist Internationalist Movement

Former prisoners sue U.$. government officials over torture

by MC17

Former detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and three other Amerikan officials, for acts of torture they endured at the hands of Amerikan military interrogators. The nine plaintiffs were held in Amerikan-run facilities in 2003 and 2004, enduring physical and psychological torture before being released without even being charged with a crime.

At a hearing in federal court on December 8, lawyers for the former prisoners first needed to convince the court that the case should be heard. Although Rumsfeld persynally approved some of the torture methods used against these prisoners, and the other officials named were in positions of authority over this torture, the Amerikan criminal injustice system claims that these cases can not be brought to Amerikan courts by foreigners. According to lawyers for the defense, non-citizens confined in prisons outside the U.$. do not have legal standing to sue for what in the United $tates would be violations of their civil rights.

The U.$. government's argument amounts to saying that people residing outside of U.$. borders should not have any civil rights protection, even if the violation of those rights is done by the Amerikan government itself. This is consistent with the Amerikan protectionist politics that provide rights and privileges for Amerikan citizens (favoring white citizens) at the expense of the majority of the world's people. We are taught in our schools and in every aspect of media that Amerikans are superior to the rest of the world's people--we are harder working; we are smarter, and so we deserve more. This is convenient justification for the wealth enjoyed by Amerikan citizens, brought home from the plunder of Third World countries. And rather than protest against the Amerikan government, the money brought home pays for redneck Amerikans patrolling the border to keep out the riff raff. Flag waving supporters cheer on military invasions around the world, looking for terrorists in every non-white face.

What does it mean to have civil rights? The protection against abuse by the government (which frankly is often ignored even with regard to Amerikan citizens based on nationality and political activism) is something most Amerikans take for granted. But when it comes to people living in Third World countries, abuse by the Amerikan government is something to be expected if a Third World government doesn't do whatever Amerika wants. Standing up to Amerikan imperialism by refusing to allow exploitation of labor and resources puts a country in danger of military invasion, CIA sponsored coup, or Amerikan-backed civil war. These actions come in the name of the latest war--the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, or whatever is the latest flavor of justification for imperialist militarism.

The Amerikan government legitimately fears that if this case is allowed to trial it could lead to a lot more lawsuits. Every time the CIA helps assassinate a leader of another country, that could be brought to court in the U.$. And every time the Amerikan military massacres people in other countries it would have been a clear violation of those people's civil rights if they were in Amerika.

The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs argued only that Amerikan laws against torture should apply to those held under exclusively Amerikan control in other countries. This gives the Amerikan government an out that they don't deserve, but is still a good test of Amerika's supposed belief in civil rights. The lawyer noted that under Iraqi laws, the Amerikan military can not be prosecuted for crimes, so if they are not responsible to Amerikan laws they are essentially without any oversight for criminal actions.

The government runs the criminal injustice system, and it is unlikely that even this lawsuit against Rumsfeld will be allowed to succeed. But these battles serve as a good educational tool. MIM considers Amerikan military invasions to be criminal actions, but we know we can't take those to an Amerikan court. This is why we need to fight imperialism on many fronts. We can use the criminal injustice system when it serves our purposes, but we will ultimately need to overthrow the imperialist government because they will not give up their global domination without a fight.

Notes:
New York Times, 12Dec06.