The plaintiffs named in the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California,
were Binyam Mohamed, Abou Elkassim Britel and Ahmed Agiza. Britel and
Mohamed were said to have been flown by the CIA to Morocco. Agiza was taken
to Egypt.
The suit said Jeppesen, based in San Jose, Calif., has been a
key provider of flight and logistical support services for CIA aircraft in
the rendition program. Since December 2001, the suit said, Jeppesen provided
flight and logistical support to at least 15 CIA aircraft that conducted 70
rendition flights.
Jeppesen was said to have provided aircraft crew and flight planning
services for the CIA program. The subsidiary also ensured customs clearance
and security for CIA aircraft and crew.
"Jeppesen's services have been crucial to the functioning of the
government's extraordinary rendition program," ACLU staff attorney Steven
Watt said. "Without the participation of
companies like Jeppesen, the program could not have gotten off the ground."
The suit was filed under the Alien Tort Statute, which permits aliens to
bring claims in the United States for alleged violations that involve
American citizens or assets. The statute accounts for torture.
In 2002, Mohamed, an Ethiopian national, was transported to Morocco,
where he spent 18 months in prison in what the suit asserted included
torture by the intelligence services of the North African kingdom. In 2004,
he was taken by the CIA to a secret U.S. detention facility in Kabul,
Afghanistan, and then to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
where he remains.
Britel was flown from Pakistan to Morocco in 2002. He was said to have
remained in Morocco. Agiza was taken from Sweden to Egypt and remains
in detention.
"For the first five weeks after his arrival in Egypt, Mr. Agiza was
detained incommunicado," the suit said. "During his time and for some 10
weeks thereafter, he was repeatedly and severely tortured and denied
meaningful access to consular officials, family members and lawyers."