al-Zahrani v. Rumsfeld Appellant Brief Filed
Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
The appellant's brief in the case al-Zahrani et al. v. Donald Rumsfeld is now available. This case relates to the reported suicides at Guantanano in 2006, the conspiracy theories about which Ben wrote here and here. The plaintiffs, family members of two of the detainees who killed themselves, sued over "the prolonged arbitrary detention, torture and cruel treatment Yasser Al-Zahrani and Salah Ali Abdullah Ahmed Al-Salami suffered in the custody of the United States and its agents at Guantanamo, and to hold responsible those officials charged with the custody and care of their sons for their sons’ injuries and ultimate deaths. Plaintiffs also bring this action to seek compensation for the emotional suffering they experienced as a result of Defendants’ arbitrary detention of their sons and callous and cruel response following their deaths." Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle threw out the case and denied the plaintiffs' motion to reconsider that decision. The five issues under consideration are:
1. Whether the district court abused its discretion in concluding on the basis of Rasul II that “special factors” categorically bar a Bivens’ remedy for the alleged killings of Appellants’ relatives, when courts routinely adjudicate cases that implicate foreign policy and national security? 2. Whether the district court erred 1) in failing to address whether Appellants had alleged a violation of the Fifth Amendment because of reliance on Rasul II and 2) in concluding that Rasul II controls this case and protects Defendants for alleged conduct through June 2006? 3. Whether the district court abused its discretion in beginning and ending its scope of employment inquiry with whether Defendants were “on the job” when Appellants had raised multiple prongs of the Restatement test in light of their new evidence? 4. Whether grave violations of international law can ever be within the scope of employment of U.S. officials? 5. Whether the district court abused its discretion in denying Appellants the opportunity to amend their complaint with the new evidence of the killing and cover-up of the deaths of their relatives?The Appellee's brief is due on July 13, and the Appellant's reply brief is due on July 27. Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled.
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
