ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department asked that German citizen Khaled el-Masri's wrongful imprisonment suit against the CIA be dismissed, citing national security.
Masri's suit, filed in Alexandria, Va., said he was arrested in Macedonia in December 2003 and held and tortured in Afghanistan for five months -- apparently until the CIA realized he was not a wanted terrorist who had the same last name.
His case has gained international attention.
Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Joseph Sher said Friday there is no way to try the case involving allegations of "clandestine activity abroad" without damaging national security, The Washington Post reported.
American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ben Wizner said it was impossible to believe that courtroom discussion of "the very same facts being discussed throughout the world" would harm the United States.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III gave no date for issuing a ruling, but said one would be made soon, the Post reported.
