Local anti-war activists have campaigned since late last year to expose the complicity of a San José, Calif., company with CIA torture flights. As a result of our persistence and the damning evidence that has come to light, the American Civil Liberties Union has decided to augment this ongoing campaign with a federal lawsuit.
At a press conference on Wednesday, May 30, the ACLU announced its suit against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., a
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Maya Harris, executive director of the Northern California ACLU, read a statement:
“Our lawsuit charges that Jeppesen knowingly provided direct flight services to the CIA that enabled the clandestine transportation of … Ahmed Agiza, Abou Elkassim Britel and Binyam Mohammed. These three men were transported to secret overseas locations where they were subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
In other words, the suit accuses the company of aiding and abetting the CIA in torturing people it suspects of being “terrorists.” Placed on flights arranged through the Jeppesen International Trip Planning division, the company’s travel service, suspected “terrorists” are flown by the CIA to other countries where it is known that they will be tortured. This is called “extraordinary rendition.”
Jeppesen makes a tidy profit on these flights. A former employee quoted a senior Jeppesen executive: “It certainly pays well. They [the CIA] spare no expense. They have absolutely no worry about costs.”
San José activists first learned of Jeppesen’s role from The New Yorker magazine’s October 2006 article, “The C.I.A.’s Travel Agent,” by Jane Mayer. The first paragraph identifies Jeppesen.
For several months every winter, the City of San Jose, in collaboration with local businesses, sponsors a downtown public ice rink. This ice rink is ringed with the sponsor’s names, and this year Jeppesen’s name was prominent. Upon learning of this, local activists called a “Skate against torture” protest.
Since then, every Friday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., activists have picketed the building where Jeppesen has its offices. At the first picket following the ACLU press conference and resulting explosion of publicity, numerous honks from passing motorists showed that a lot more people in the area now know about and disapprove of Jeppesen’s nefarious activities.
Click these links for previous articles on the campaign against Jeppesen:
San José activists protest CIA rendition flights
San José activists skate against torture
