A federal judge has ordered that former CIA officials can be deposed in a lawsuit against the architects of the agency's torture program, in what human rights advocates say is a vital step for accountability. The order (pdf), issued by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Justin Quackenbush earlier this week, rejected an attempt by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that would have protected the officials from oral questioning. The deposition will be carried out as part of a discovery process for a case against the program's architects, psychologists James Mitchell and John "Bruce" Jessen, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of three men who were subjected to beatings, exposure to extreme temperature, sleep and food deprivation, and other abuses while in CIA custody.
At www.commondreams.org
