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40-425: Wizner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Ben Wizner (born 1971), American lawyer, writer, and civil liberties advocate Stephen Wizner , American legal scholar See also [ edit ] Weisner Winer [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with the surname Wizner . If an internal link intending to refer to

80-570: A forced disappearance . The Court stated that El-Masri's allegations were supported by previous investigations into flight logs, as well as forensic evidence about his physical condition. This was the first time that a court had found in favor of El-Masri since his release by the CIA. In a statement before the Grand Chamber, the Open Society Institute , which had prosecuted the case, called upon

120-495: A 4 December 2005, article in the Washington Post , CIA agents discussed whether they should remove El-Masri from Macedonia in an extraordinary rendition . The decision to do so was made by the head of the al Qaeda division of the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Center, Alfreda Frances Bikowsky , on the basis of "a hunch" that El-Masri was involved in terrorism ; his name was similar to suspected terrorist Khalid al-Masri . When

160-599: A German citizen arrested while travelling in Macedonia on suspicion of links to Al Qaeda , who was held by the CIA at a black site in Afghanistan for five months, despite evidence that he was the wrong person. El-Masri's suit was dismissed in the U.S. on grounds of state secrecy, though the CIA ultimately admitted to making a mistake, in a report released by the U.S. Senate. The European Court of Human Rights ruled against Macedonia in

200-511: A former resident of Catonsville, Maryland , US was held by the CIA for an additional three and a half years prior to being transferred to US military custody and Guantanamo on 5 September 2006. In April 2004, CIA Director George Tenet was told by his staff that El-Masri was being wrongfully detained. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice learned of the German citizen's detention in early May and ordered his release. Shortly before El-Masri

240-416: A larger fire. While the courts recognized that El-Masri had never breached the law before his CIA abduction, and ruled that he had been traumatized, they also stated that this did not now justify acts of violence. He received a suspended sentence. Prosecutors in the arson case also revealed that El-Masri faced charges for allegedly attacking a truck driving instructor. They said El-Masri lost his temper after

280-515: A meeting with the prison director and a CIA officer known as "The Boss". They conceded he should not be imprisoned but refused to release him. El-Masri continued his hunger strike for 10 more days until he was force-fed and given medical attention. He had lost more than 60 pounds (27 kg) since his abduction in Skopje. While imprisoned in Afghanistan, Masri befriended several other detainees. The men memorized each other's telephone numbers so that if one

320-593: A previous marriage with a German woman, whom he later divorced. In 1996, El-Masri married a Lebanese woman in Ulm , Germany. They have had five children together. At the end of 2003, El-Masri travelled from his home in Ulm to go on a short vacation in Skopje . He was detained by Macedonian border officials on 31 December 2003, because his name was identical (except for variations in Roman transliteration) to that of Khalid al-Masri , who

360-540: A ruling, finding that El-Masri's account of his abduction, rendition and torture "was established beyond reasonable doubt" and that Macedonia "had been responsible for his torture and ill-treatment both in the country itself and after his transfer to the U.S. authorities in the context of an extra-judicial rendition." It awarded El-Masri 60,000 Euros in compensation. The Court termed El-Masri's abduction, detention and torture in Macedonia, and subsequent rendition to Afghanistan,

400-548: A specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wizner&oldid=1037988838 " Categories : Surnames Americanized surnames Surnames of German origin Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles Ben Wizner Ben Wizner (born 1971)

440-975: Is an American lawyer, writer, and civil liberties advocate with the American Civil Liberties Union . Since July 2013, he has been the lead attorney of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden . Wizner was born in 1971 in New Haven, Connecticut , and grew up on the campus of Yale University , where his father, Stephen Wizner , is a professor of law at Yale Law School and his mother is a dean. He has described being drawn to social justice work from at least as early as high school; after graduating Harvard College in 1993, he worked for an organization that provided legal assistance to homeless and near-homeless people. At New York University School of Law , he planned to work in legal services for impoverished communities, and on capital punishment cases. After graduating, he clerked for judge Stephen Reinhardt of

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480-570: The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The court determined he had been tortured while held by CIA agents and ruled that Macedonia was responsible for abusing him while in the country, and knowingly transferring him to the CIA when torture was a possibility. It awarded him compensation. This marked the first time that CIA activities against detainees was legally declared as torture. The European Court condemned nations for collaborating with

520-522: The Guantanamo Bay detention camp . Many of the cases Wizner took were dismissed; he later commented that "on the worst days, I believed that what we were doing ... wasn't litigation in the traditional sense. It wasn't trying to get a court to do something, it was creating a record so that ... people would be able to look back and decide whether it had been the right decision or a disastrous decision." Starting in 2005, Wizner represented Khalid El-Masri ,

560-638: The LGBT civil rights movement and drug prohibition as areas where illegal activities have contributed to positive changes in the law and public opinion. In speaking on the U.S. intelligence apparatus, he has said that "the NSA is not uniquely evil, it's uniquely capable." Wizner has forcefully defended Snowden against calls for his punishment, stating that he broke the law for the public good, and noting that no elected officials have been held criminally liable for torture and other human rights violations since 9/11. Following

600-966: The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . Wizner began working for the American Civil Liberties Union in Los Angeles in August 2001, initially focusing on prison reform . Following the September 11 attacks , Wizner's focus shifted to civil liberties issues relating to U.S. national security . Around 2004, he moved to the ACLU's headquarters in New York City. There, he argued legal cases relating to airport security , government watchlists , surveillance practices, targeted killing , extraordinary rendition , and torture . He made several trips to

640-495: The transit zone in Moscow, his passport having been revoked by the U.S. Government. Wizner and Snowden exchanged encrypted communications during this time. Snowden's legal team also includes Jesselyn Radack , an advocate for whistleblowers; Wolfgang Kaleck , a European attorney; and attorneys with expertise in criminal and asylum law. The team works pro bono to ensure Snowden's continued freedom and ability to contribute to

680-496: The April 2019 arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London's Ecuadorian Embassy , Ben Wizner said that if authorities were to prosecute Assange "for violating U.S. secrecy laws [it] would set an especially dangerous precedent for U.S. journalists, who routinely violate foreign secrecy laws to deliver information vital to the public's interest." Khalid El-Masri In May 2004,

720-756: The Eastern District of Virginia , based on the U.S. government's claiming the state secrets privilege . The ACLU said the Bush administration attempted to shield its abuses by invoking this privilege. The case was also dismissed by the Appeals Court for the Fourth Circuit, and in December 2007, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case. On 13 December 2012, El-Masri won an Article 34 case at

760-476: The Macedonian officials released El-Masri on 23 January 2004, American security officers immediately kidnapped him. El-Masri later described them as members of a "black snatch team." They beat him and sedated him for transport using a rectal suppository. "The CIA stripped, hooded, shackled and sodomized el-Masri with a suppository—in CIA parlance, subjected him to "capture shock"—as Macedonian officials stood by." He

800-559: The Press , and Politicking with Larry King . In 2013, Edward Snowden contacted journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras , longtime acquaintances of Wizner, about releasing classified information on NSA programs. Poitras consulted with Wizner before travelling to meet Snowden in Hong Kong. Greenwald later put Wizner into contact with Snowden in July 2013, when Snowden was stranded in

840-484: The U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Daniel R. Coats , convinced the German interior minister, Otto Schily , not to press charges or to reveal the program. El-Masri filed suit against the CIA for his arrest, extraordinary rendition and torture. In 2006, his suit El Masri v. Tenet, in which he was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was dismissed by the United States District Court for

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880-477: The U.S. government, the ACLU had standing to sue. As a result of his work with Snowden, the New York Times Magazine declared that Wizner "has become a figure of not insignificant geopolitical importance." Wizner has defended a right to privacy , and has been critical of the use of extensive surveillance to enforce law. He has highlighted the role of lawbreaking in positive social change, pointing to

920-764: The United States in these secret programs. El-Masri was born in Kuwait to Lebanese parents. He grew up in Lebanon. He immigrated to Germany in the 1980s during the Lebanese civil war , where he applied for political asylum, based on his membership in the Islamic Unification Movement which had fought against the Lebanese government during the war years. He was granted asylum. In 1994 he obtained German citizenship through

960-532: The United States to apologize to El-Masri. James Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, said: For Mr. El-Masri, the most important thing that he was hoping for was to have the European court officially acknowledge what he did and say that what he's been claiming is in fact true and it was in fact a breach of the law. ... It's an extraordinary ruling. Goldston also said,

1000-580: The case. In 2011, Wizner became director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Wizner is an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law. He is a contributor to the website Lawfare , has written for Time , the Freedom of the Press Foundation , and several other media outlets, and has testified before the U.S. Congress. He has regularly appeared on television news and analysis programs, including Democracy Now! , Meet

1040-488: The face and threw a chair at him. He was arrested two hours after the attack in Senden . He confessed the attack, but kept silent about the motives at the time. Writing from his cell, he complained about the increasing licensing of brothels by the city, one of which he said desecrated a Muslim prayer room. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment on 30 March 2010. His lawyer, Manfred Gnjidic , explained that El-Masri believed he

1080-405: The instructor criticized him for failing to attend his lessons. On September 11, 2009, El-Masri was arrested after attacking Gerold Noerenberg, the mayor of Neu-Ulm. Shortly before the attack El-Masri tried to meet Noerenberg, but was prevented from entering the office and sent off by the police. He then took three of his six children with him, stormed the office and struck Noerenberg repeatedly in

1120-578: The public conversation he began with his disclosures. Wizner describes being a "gatekeeper" of media requests for Snowden. He has said that he believes Snowden will return to the U.S. eventually. Wizner has called the Snowden case "the work of a lifetime" and "not traditional legal work, by any means". He had previously spent a decade trying to bring cases against U.S. intelligence agencies, with these cases often dismissed for lack of standing . With Snowden's revelations about Verizon delivering metadata to

1160-535: The situation escalated into a shouting match. El-Masri spat in the face of a female employee, and was barred from the store. On May 17, 2007, El-Masri kicked in a door of the Metro store and used gasoline to start a fire. The fire caused almost €90,000 in damages. Nobody was hurt. El-Masri was arrested near the scene of the crime. After arrest, a judge ordered him held in a psychiatric hospital. On May 18, El-Masri's attorney, Manfred Gnjidic , conceded his client did set fire to

1200-434: The store, but blamed it on his client's torture experiences and claimed that the German government did not provide enough therapy to him after his return from Afghanistan. He had actually requested extended therapy for his client shortly before the incident, as El-Masri stated he felt threatened, and believed himself to be pursued by cars and strangers. He stated the act of arson was executed on impulse and could not have led to

1240-454: Was beaten and repeatedly interrogated. He also said that his custodians forcibly inserted an object into his anus. He was kept in a bare, squalid cell, given only meager rations to eat and putrid water to drink. According to a report by the inspector general of the CIA, El-Masri's German passport was not examined for authenticity until three months into his detention. Upon examination, the CIA's Office of Technical Services swiftly concluded it

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1280-534: Was being sought as an alleged mentor to the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell , and because of suspicion that El-Masri's German passport was a forgery. He was held in a motel in Macedonia for over three weeks and questioned about his activities, his associates, and the mosque he attended in Ulm. The Macedonian authorities contacted the local CIA station, who in turn contacted the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia . According to

1320-524: Was dressed in a diaper and a jumpsuit , with total sensory deprivation, and flown to Baghdad , then immediately to the " Salt Pit ", a black site or covert CIA interrogation center, in Afghanistan. It also held CIA prisoners from Pakistan , Tanzania , Yemen and Saudi Arabia . After his release, in 2006 El-Masri wrote in the Los Angeles Times that, while held by the CIA in Afghanistan , he

1360-422: Was genuine and that his continued detention would be unjustified. Discussion over what to do with El-Masri included secretly transporting him back to Macedonia and dumping him there without informing German authorities, and denying any claims he made. In March 2004, El-Masri took part in a hunger strike , demanding that his captors afford him due process or watch him die. After 27 days without eating, he forced

1400-466: Was malnourished during his disappearance. On May 17, 2007, El-Masri was arrested on suspicion of arson . According to Die Welt Online , the problem arose over a dispute over an iPod that El-Masri had bought at a METRO warehouse club store back in April in the Bavarian city of Neu-Ulm . He claimed the iPod malfunctioned just hours after purchase. When he tried to return it, the store refused, and

1440-413: Was pursued by the secret services, trying to break or recruit him, and he intended to file an appeal. El-Masri filed a complaint against the Macedonian government asking for damages for his "suffering, anguish and mental breakdown", due to his mistaken arrest, torture and abuse after being transferred to CIA custody. On December 13, 2012, the Grand Chamber for the European Court of Human Rights issued

1480-476: Was released on 28 May 2004 following a second order from Rice. The CIA flew El-Masri out of Afghanistan and released him at night on a desolate road in Albania , without an apology or funds to return home. He later said that, at the time he believed his release was a ruse, and he would be executed. He was intercepted by Albanian guards, who believed him to be a terrorist due to his haggard and unkempt appearance. He

1520-522: Was released, he could contact the families of the others. According to the New York Times , Laid Saidi , an Algerian who was a former detainee, was released in 2006. His description of his abduction and detention closely matched that of El-Masri. El-Masri reports that Majid Khan , characterized by the Bush administration as a high-value detainee, was held in the Salt Pit at the same time as he was. Khan,

1560-530: Was released, in May 2004 the US ambassador to Germany informed the government for the first time of his detention. The ambassador asked the interior minister Otto Schily not to disclose the events, as the US feared "exposure of a covert action program designed to capture terrorism suspects abroad and transfer them among countries, and possible legal challenges to the CIA from Mr Masri and others with similar allegations." El-Masri

1600-521: Was returned to Germany. It took time for him to be reunited with his wife; with no word of him for so long, she thought he had abandoned her and their family, and returned with their children to her family in Lebanon. In 2005, a German prosecutor started aiding El-Masri to validate his case. Using isotope analysis , scientists at the Bavarian archive for geology in Munich analyzed his hair; they verified that he

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