Meshal v. Higgenbotham is a U.S. federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Amir Mohamed Meshal, a natural born citizen of the United States, charging two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Chris Higgenbotham and Steve Hersem, and two other unknown U.S. government officials for their roles in subverting Meshal's rights under the United States Constitution and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991.
[1] In the lawsuit, Meshal alleges he was "interrogated more than thirty times by U.S. officials who failed to adhere to the most elementary requirements of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991" and "U.S. officials repeatedly threatened Mr. Meshal with torture, forced disappearance, and other serious harm".
The ruling said that Amir Meshal's allegations of abuse were "quite troubling," but stated that he is unable to pursue claims that agents violated his constitutional rights because the events took place overseas during a terrorism investigation.
"[3] In the New York Times, Patrick G. Eddington concludes "Mr. Meshal has fallen into a legal black hole, where the light of justice is extinguished in the name of national security.
The appellate court decision means that American citizens have no means available to hold the government accountable for violating their constitutional rights, simply because the United States conveniently denied those rights in another country of its choosing.