SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The Latest on a hearing about a lawsuit filed against two psychologists who helped design the CIA’s harsh interrogation methods in the war on terror (all times local):
1:40 p.m.
A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of three men who were subjected to harsh interrogation techniques designed by two psychologists for the CIA.
Judge Justin Quackenbush told the lawyers following a Friday hearing that he still has reservations about whether the case should include two of the detainees in the case. But he said he won’t dismiss the case for one detainee who died in custody.
Quackenbush also refused to immediately rule in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the lawsuit and argued the psychologists were the architects of what became the CIA’s torture program following the Sept. 11 attacks and should be held accountable.
The trial is set for Sept. 5.
Lawyers for James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who are based in Spokane, told the judge that the psychologists only created a list of possible techniques. It was the U.S. government that then chose the detainees, created the secret prisons and conducted the interrogations.
Quackenbush said he would rule later on whether all three detainees will be included in the case.
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12:25 a.m.
The two psychologists who helped design the CIA’s harsh interrogation methods used in the war on terror are battling to have a lawsuit from former detainees dismissed.
Lawyers for James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen say they were contractors and the CIA was responsible for the interrogations.
But the American Civil Liberties Union says the psychologists should be held accountable for the methods they crafted following the Sept. 11 terror attacks, including waterboarding and beatings.
Both sides will appear Friday before a federal judge in Spokane, Washington. The outcome of the arguments in U.S. District Court will determine whether the lawsuit goes to trial, set for September.
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