U.S. court to rule on torture assurances

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A court case Thursday will decide if it is legal for U.S. officials to rely on foreign government assurances that people to be deported will not be tortured.

The American Civil Liberties Union will argue before the U.S. District Court in Scranton, Pa., that the government cannot deport Egyptian asylum-seeker Sameh Khouzam back to Egypt based on diplomatic assurances from the government there that it will not torture him.

The case could have important ramifications for counter-terrorism policy, because U.S. agencies rely on the same kind of assurances when sending suspected foreign terrorists overseas as part of the CIA’s rendition program.

Khouzam, a Christian who came to the United States in 1998, fleeing religious persecution, was granted protection from deportation in 2004 under the Convention Against Torture after a federal appeals court found that he would likely be tortured if returned.

But in May, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- the agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for interior enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws -- decided to deport him based on diplomatic assurances obtained from the Egyptian government by the U.S. State Department.

In June, the ACLU obtained an emergency stay of Khouzam’s deportation removal order pending resolution of his case.

Khouzam is currently detained in Pennsylvania's York County Prison awaiting a decision.