Supreme Court to decide Ashcroft, Mueller immunity

WASHINGTON, 12/12/08,  (AFP) —

The US Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday on
whether cabinet-level officials could be held accountable for
controversial tactics President George W. Bush ordered as part of the
US-led "war on terror."

Former attorney general John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller
have sought immunity from the charges in a lawsuit filed by Javaid
Iqbal, a Pakistani national.

Iqbal was among more than 700 Arab and South Asian Muslim men from
the New York City area rounded up after the September 11, 2001
attacks. While they were all eventually charged with immigration
violations or minor crimes, none was linked to terrorism.

In his lawsuit, Iqbal alleges that Ashcroft and Mueller targeted the
men for investigation and punitive detention, sidestepping procedural
protections usually granted to such detainees.

Iqbal, who was held at a maximum security section of a Brooklyn
federal prison, says he was subjected to harsh treatment and
discrimination and that federal officials classified him as a "high
interest" suspect because he was a Muslim from Pakistan.

A June 2003 report by the Department of Justice inspector general
found "significant problems" in the treatment of detainees like Iqbal.
Iqbal's lawsuit says Ashcroft and Mueller approved the policy of
holding post-September 11 detainees in restrictive confinement.

Ashcroft was among those who "willfully and maliciously approved of,
endorsed, and/or ordered that these searches take place" and "knew
of, condoned, and willfully and maliciously agreed to subject (Iqbal)
to unreasonable, unnecessary and extreme strip and body-cavity
searches," according to the suit.

A federal court and an appeals court refused to remove the cabinet-
level officials from the case.

Lawyers for Ashcroft and Mueller say their clients were not
personally involved in the detainee mistreatment and did not know
about Iqbal.

"A complaint must allege sufficient facts to cross the line between
possibility and plausibility," Solicitor General Gregory Barre wrote
in his brief to the court.

Barre says Iqbal's lawyers have failed to provide enough evidence
linking Ashcroft and Mueller to Iqbal's mistreatment.

Alexander Reinert, who will argue for Iqbal, challenges the
government's position as an attempt to avoid responsibility by high-
ranking officials for mistreatment okayed by the Bush Administration.
"The government's position will have the practical effect of ensuring
that these officials will never be held accountable for
unconstitutional conduct," Reinert said in a statement.

Some critics have assailed Ashcroft over the Patriot Act, legislation
that broadened law enforcement powers after September 11, saying it
did so at the expense of civil liberties.

Iqbal claims that during his five-month confinement he was held 23
hours a day in a constantly lit cell where the air conditioning was
turned on in the winter and the heat was turned in the summer. He
says he was also beaten and strip-searched.

Upon release in 2003, he had lost nearly 20 kilograms (44 pounds). He
was then deported to Pakistan with no terror-related charges filed
against him.

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