Anti-rendition lawsuit filed for U.S. man

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A New Jersey man charges his constitutional rights were violated in the first lawsuit seeking damages for rendition of a U.S. citizen, court papers show.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of Amir Meshal who was captured in Kenya in January 2007, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The lawsuit says Meshal, a Muslim born to Egyptian parents, traveled to Somalia in 2006 "to enrich his study of Islam."

He was forced to flee to Kenya after fighting broke out in the Somali capital, the lawsuit says.

Meshal says he was held in Kenya and repeatedly questioned by FBI agents who threatened to send him to Israel or Egypt unless he acknowledged ties to al-Qaida, the lawsuit charges.

The suit says Meshal was moved to Somalia and then to Ethiopia before being allowed to return to the United States.