Filmmaker Sues U.S. Over Iraq Detention

L. A Times ^ | 8 JULY 2006 | Henry Weinstein,

[radar101]

A Los Angeles filmmaker who was imprisoned in Iraq for 55 days sued Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other high-ranking military officials Friday, alleging that his detention violated his civil rights, the law of nations and the Geneva Convention.

Mark D. Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California, said the suit is the first civil action challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. government's detention and hearing policies in Iraq.

Cyrus Kar, 45, of Los Feliz was freed a year ago, just days after the American Civil Liberties Union sued seeking his release. The new lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, seeks damages for Kar and broad changes in the government's detention policies.

Kar, a U.S. citizen and Navy veteran, went to Iraq 14 months ago to make a documentary film about Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who wrote the world's first human rights charter.

On May 17, 2005, the taxi he was riding in was stopped at a Baghdad checkpoint and authorities found components in the trunk that are commonly used in improvised explosive devices. The taxi driver told military authorities that Kar and his cameraman knew nothing about the items, which the driver said he was bringing to his brother-in-law

[SkyPilot]

Kar, a U.S. citizen and Navy veteran, went to Iraq 14 months ago to make a documentary film about Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who wrote the world's first human rights charter.

Sure he did.

[radar101]

Henry Weinstein....................................... http://patterico.com/2006/06/24/4766/la-times-thug-henry-weinstein-repeats-vicious-slanders-against-federal-judge-for-the-umpteenth-time/................................. Back in June 2004, I laid out extensive evidence that L.A. Times staff writer Henry Weinstein never, ever passes up an opportunity to repeat the nasty and false things that Stephen Yagman has said about Judge William D. Keller, for whom I clerked from 1995 to 1996......................... Read the post for the details. Suffice it to say that Yagman said plenty of nasty things about Judge Keller. All were untrue. Yagman has since apologized. Yet Henry Weinstein never tires of repeating these defamatory statements...................................... By my count, The Times, virtually always in articles by Weinstein, repeated Yagman’s vicious slanders against Judge Keller sixteen times over the course of five years. It didn’t matter that the falsehoods were frequently irrelevant to the story. It didn’t matter that Yagman, hardly a guy prone to glib contrition, later apologized to Keller for the slanders. Most fundamentally, it didn’t matter that Yagman never produced evidence for outrageous statements such as his accusation that Keller was “drunk on the bench.” ...................................................... Weinstein just likes repeating Yagman’s smears, because he doesn’t like Judge Keller. So, with the utter arrogance characteristic of journalists drunk on their own power, Weinstein repeated the spurious charges — again, and again, and again, and again, and again.................... Read through the block quotes in the post linked above. They are all set out — all sixteen of them — by date. Just scan them quickly. You’ll see what I mean. This thug Weinstein just absolutely revels in the opportunity to take a shot at Judge Keller — every chance he gets.

[Jacquerie]

Absent second, third or forth party verification I don't believe a word of this. Thanks old media, your frequent and repeated lies and distortions have made me cynical and disbelieving of any story that advances the "US is terrible" story line.

[Jack Hammer]

No wonder Cyrus conquered the Medes - he had explosives; maybe he had AK47s, too. Anyway, the stuff in the trunk was probably just a load of props for the documentary.

[Michael.SF.]

Kar, went to Iraq 14 months ago to make a documentary film about Cyrus the Great,

Talk about timing, it's not like he had to rush over there to interview Cyrus or anything.

[Defiant]

Actually, the guy was legit, he was detained and held for a long time without any evidence he had done anything, and actually is a pro-American US citizen of Iranian origin. The reason he was held: He had a camera with him. The reason he was released: When his family complained, the authorities looked at it, they saw he had done nothing, and finally let him go.

If it was me, I'd want something for the time I spent wrongly imprisoned. If I had done something that gave an army reason to hold me indefinitely, even if I was innocent, I'd just say, hey, that's war, but from what I can tell, they should have released this guy as soon as his story checked out, and they continued to hold him. You think that time in the Iraqi slammer was a picnic for him? I doubt it very much.

[x1stcav]

OK, he gets damages for the time detained etc. In return, he agrees to forfiet any book rights, movie residuals, or other income resulting from his 'experiences', which our military thoughtfully provided him.

[Defiant]

In return, he agrees to forfiet any book rights, movie residuals, or other income resulting from his 'experiences', which our military thoughtfully provided him.

Why would you suggest that he should compromise his rights in any way? Would you expect the same treatment of Michael Yon if he got accidentally caught up in a sweep in Iraq, and someone stupidly refused to release him for 55 days? Or is your basis for not supporting this case the fact that this guy is Iranian-American?

I do not support his hiring of an ACLU jackass, however. I'd find a pro-American lawyer who comes at it with the attitude that there was a screwup, you owe me money, but you are not evil. The ACLU is only doing this because they are anti-American and want to use this case to embarrass the military.

[Jacquerie]

Actually, the guy was legit, he was detained and held for a long time without any evidence he had done anything, and actually is a pro-American US citizen of Iranian origin.

I'm not buying it. A documentary in a war zone not about the war? Did he have US military/Iraqi cooperation and support? Iran/Iraq were death enemies not too long ago. Do you think it is reasonable to think he was a spy or possibly aiding the insurgents? This "film maker" if that is what he is, is lucky he escaped with his life. If the US military were as cavalier about picking up suspects as you imply, the prison camps would number in the hundreds.

[Deb]

Oh, please...all but two of the 9/11 hijackers were "legit". No one (not even an airhead from L.A.) goes to a war zone to make an historical documentary. I lived in Los Feliz and I know news of the war made it into the local media.

[Rummyfan]

Kar, a U.S. citizen and Navy veteran, went to Iraq 14 months ago to make a documentary film about Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who wrote the world's first human rights charter.

His timing is certainly suspect - or he's really stupid! And Cyrus wrote a 'human rights charter'? Who knew!

[jonascord]

Your post has "The military is always WRONG" as a subtext. Iraq is a war zone. Anyone who doen't know this is either catastrophically stupid or a liberal on a mission. Going there with the excuse that "I was doing research on Cyrus the Great..." is like going to Tokyo in 1944 to film Madame Butterfly, and complaining about the bombing!

"pro-American US citizen of Iranian origin." Here is a hint. An actual American does not need qualifiers to his identity. An American should rate his national extraction right down there with what what street he grew up on. Liberals are the ones who feel driven to hyphenate themselves.

If I had found a taxi with a trunk full of IED parts, I would have shot everyone in the cab, out of hand. It's why I'm not in Iraq.

[Bombard]

Given what has happened to some Westerners in Iraq, he is lucky to be alive. What rights does a US citizen have in a war zone in another country? In my book the military did this guy a favor by holding him out of harms way. Besided Cyrus the Great was a Persian, what was this guy doing in Iraq when he should have been in Iran?

[Defiant]

all but two of the 9/11 hijackers were "legit"

How do you define "legit"? By legit, I meant that he was not a terrorist, and his story, if investigated, would have checked out. You are using the term as meaning "in the US legally". We are talking about two different things. You are also convicting this guy, an American citizen raised here, of being a terrorist based on the following:

1. He is of Iranian origin; and
2. He was found in Iraq.

I expect that kind of logic from John Murtha, when talking about allegations against Marines, but most Freepers are more intelligent than that.

Whether you think it was smart or not for him to be in Iraq, that is why he was there. He wasn't having any trouble in Iraq (lots of Iranians live in Iraq, having migrated there to escape the Mullahs), his trouble occurred when he encountered a US checkpoint. I don't have a problem with the military holding him upon encountering him. However, what they needed to do was check out who he was and confirm that he was not a terrorist. If I remember the details correctly, what they did was, they threw him in the local slammer and ignored him entirely for like a month. Then, when it turned out he was "legit", i.e., not a terrorist, but a film maker who was actually working on a project like he said, then they dragged their feet before finally releasing him.

You won't find anyone here who is more favorable to the military than I am. But they, like any huge organization, can make mistakes, and for mistakes that should not have been made, which can be compensated under our law, I have no problem with someone seeking such compensation.

What I think you need to do is not classify all Iranians as terrorists. The ones in the US are doctors, lawyers, engineers and professionals, they are taking the valedictorian spots in all the LA schools (away from the Asians, I might add) and are the best citizens you could want. You might want to engage brain before pounding the keys.

[Deb]

What a steaming pile. You have no idea what this guy is and yet you completely buy the media/ACLU line that he was just an innocent guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Comparing me to Murtha shows you're mentally unstable and should probably be in an Iraqi jail your ownself.

[Jameison]

"Mark D. Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California,"

They shoulda handed him over to Zarqawi, since the ACLU love the guy so much.

[Defiant]

Your post has "The military is always WRONG" as a subtext.

That is an insanely incorrect reading of what I wrote above.

An actual American does not need qualifiers to his identity.

Whaaaa??? He didn't put qualifiers to his identity. I mentioned his ethnicity because it is relevant to the story. I don't know how he describes himself.

He is an American citizen, travelling in Iraq. If you don't agree with him going there, he doesn't give a rats hiney. He is of Iranian origin. He is doing a project that involves travel to the cities of the ancient Persian empire, a topic that is alway interesting to Iranians, who are history buffs and proud of their heritage. He believes it will advance his career. He gets in a cab at a public taxi stand, hits a US checkpoint, and then finds himself in prison for 55 days.

Your Tokyo 1944 analogy is so inapt I won't bother to explain why. Maybe you can figure it out for yourself.

Fortunately, the soldiers at the checkpoint are not criminals, and did not do as you would have, which is execute a passenger in a cab because of suspicion of the cabbie. I don't have any problem with anything they did, except for they threw this guy in the slammer and just left him there, instead of checking it out. Turns out he was right about all he was saying. Not just that they can't prove anything but have their suspicions, but that there is clear proof that he was doing nothing wrong, and was not one of the bad guys. I think a week, maybe two, would have been ok to hold him. Do that, and I say, crap happens in war. But they got a little malicious with him, and that's why he's suing now.

[Defiant]

I don't buy any media line. I read extensively about this case about 6 months or more ago, and came to my own conclusions.

The form of logic you use is similar to that used by Murtha. You may or may not be comparable to Murtha, I don't know you, but I can analyze your words. Your latest reply is even worse than Murtha, he never suggested that people who support the Marines who have been charged should be in jail, but when I opine that this guy was innocent, you come to the conclusion that I should be in an Iraqi jail? Who is mentally unstable?

That this guy is innocent is shown even more by this lawsuit. Government lawyers will climb into all the orifices and cracks of his life. He's confident he's clean, and from what I read about this case way back when, it was pretty clear that he was and that a mistake was made. Mistakes happen, and when they do, you apologize, and, if it is something that should not have happened, for which compensation is legally available, then you maybe pay something for your mistake. This applies to this guy as well as to the person who rams your car in the street, the retailer who wrongly detains a shopper, and even the lawyer who files a case without any legal merit. Perhaps you should consider whether you have made a mistake today and try to rectify it.

[Defiant]

Besided Cyrus the Great was a Persian, what was this guy doing in Iraq

LOL. You really don't know, do you?

[jonascord]

IRAQ IS A WAR ZONE!!!! That is the nub, the Point, the Focus! Did that little bit slip by you? Since you have chosen to side-step that bit of data, I must assume it was deliberate!

People are getting killed, daily, even hourly! Since you and this "film maker" choose to ignore that fact, all your other whinging is worthless noise. If I had explained that, in 1944, Tokyo was being bombed by the US Army Air Force, would it have clarified things? Silly me, assuming that you know grade school history.

[x1stcav]

Or is your basis for not supporting this case the fact that this guy is Iranian-American?

You sure you're not a liberal? It took you about 3 seconds to accuse me of being a racist. So, SIUYA.



I do not support his hiring of an ACLU jackass, however. I'd find a pro-American lawyer who comes at it with the attitude that there was a screwup, you owe me money, but you are not evil. The ACLU is only doing this because they are anti-American and want to use this case to embarrass the military.

Now you are reading me more or less correctly.

Stop frothing at the mouth.

[Defiant]

If you don't understand the difference between travelling to an enemy's land during wartime, and travelling to land occupied by the US military and its allies, then I can't help you. Yes, there was an insurgency, but it was not in all towns, and it was certainly not illegal for people to go there and see for themselves. Before the insurgency heated up, you had all kinds of people going to Iraq and travelling around, writing about the experience. You had Iraqi expats returning, journalists (Michael Yon, Mark Steyn), people looking for business opportunities, and this guy, a film maker. You had American contractors all over (remember Fallujah?), and last I heard, no one blamed them for being in Iraq during an insurgency, said they shouldn't have been there, and that if they got picked up and sent to the can for 55 days, it would be their fault.

[Defiant]

You didn't answer my question. Why would you expect this guy to sign some agreement regarding his right to tell his story in order to be compensated for being wrongly held?

[RJL]

If it was me, I'd want something for the time I spent wrongly imprisoned.

When you're riding around in a war zone and in a vehicle containing parts for explosive devices used to kill our troops I'm not just going to just take your word that you're innocent.

It only makes sense that you're going to spend some time locked up while they check you out, and that may not be their highest priority while fighting a war.

[Defiant]

I think I made clear that I agree with you. I have no problem with them taking him in and investigating. I also agree that other priorities come first. The issue is how long until they need to let this guy go. I said a week, maybe two. Maybe the military has a reason why it took longer; if so they can present it in court. My recollection from the original story was that they kept this guy even after they had been given all kinds of info that he was ok. That's probably why he's bitter.

[x1stcav]

I think my sentiments are similar to many others who've posted on this trhead. He's in a war zone...he takes his chances. He won't be the first film-maker/journalist held unreasonably, and won't be the last.

I'm not buying into the fact that he is clean. There have been too many instances of media collaborating with the hajis to stage 'events'.

If I'm going to be in a default mode, I'm going to go with our military every time.

The fellow in question should consider a less hazardous and time-consuming line of work.

How does anyone know (yeah, I read eslewhere about your research on this topic) if this wasn't a 'media event' that went wrong?

And speaking of Michael Yon, I'll bet he wouldn't have found himself in this kind of predicament in the first place.

[livius]

It says in the article that IED parts were found in the trunk. Even though they didn't belong to him, how is anybody to know this without an investigation?

[kcvl]

http://www.venusproject.com/ecs/images/Cyrus_Kar.jpg


Cyrus Kar, a 44-year-old part time college professor at the University of Phoenix

Kar grew up along the West Coast after emigrating from Iran

he was arrested along with his Iranian cameraman and the Iraqi taxi driver who admitted owning the timer devices found in the taxi


He began working on a filmed documentary about his namesake Cyrus the Great and visited England, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan for shooting before obtaining permission from the US government to visit Iraq.


On May 17, Kar and his Iranian cameraman hired an Iraqi taxi driver to take them to the outskirts of Baghdad. When they were stopped at a checkpoint, Iraqi police searched the trunk and found a bag of washing machine timers, devices that can be used to set off roadside bombs.



Ms. Kar (his sister), who works for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Africa, said she had discouraged her brother from going to Iraq


Anna Kar, Mr. Kar's sister, said she had spent some time with her brother in Tehran, where their mother lives, about six weeks before he traveled into Iraq. She warned him about the dangers of such a trip, she said, but her fears were no match for his determination to complete filming for a documentary he had been trying to make about the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great.



During the course of his interrogation he was asked many questions about his past, including "did you vote in the last Presidential election?" Cyrus Kar answered that he had. He was then asked "who did you vote for?" Cyrus Kar answered "John Kerry."




"There's a tremendous amount of humiliation that follows that arrest policy, and I strongly believe that one of the major reasons that the insurgency is growing is because when detainees are released, they come out, and they're looking for retribution. …They're angry."

[Defiant]

Here's his story:

Some might have questioned his decision to visit war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. But Kar, an Iranian-American documentary filmmaker and U.S. citizen, says it was part of a labor of love: to complete his documentary about the ancient Persian King Cyrus the Great.

Kar's documentary took him from Tajikistan through Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. The final piece of the story was to be filmed in Iraq. As an American citizen and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, the 44-year-old filmmaker felt confident about his presence in Iraq and had U.S. officials' permission to film there.

But soon Kar's plan to finish his dream project turned into a terrifying ordeal.

........

Cargo Draws Suspicion

On May 17, Kar and his Iranian cameraman hired an Iraqi taxi driver to take them to the outskirts of Baghdad. When they were stopped at a checkpoint, Iraqi police searched the trunk and found a bag of washing machine timers, devices that can be used to set off roadside bombs.

Kar, his cameraman and the Iraqi driver were all taken to a police station 50 miles north of Baghdad.

Once at the police station, Kar revealed his American citizenship and showed the police his passport and filming permit. When he asked to speak with the U.S. Embassy, the Iraqi police said they had contacted the U.S. military.

Military officials say they notified the FBI to begin investigating Kar's case and his possible connection to the devices found in his taxi's trunk. Eventually they concluded the filmmaker and his cameraman had nothing to with the suspicious equipment and both men were released. Officials said the taxi driver was still being held as the investigation continued.

......

As he was transferred to American custody, Kar repeated that he was an American citizen and again asked to speak to the U.S. Embassy.

"And I said, 'Listen, I'm a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. This is how you treat your own?' "

Once at the American detention camp, Kar was placed on the dirt floor, restrained with flexi-cuffs behind his back and left with a blanket and bottle of water. Around 1 a.m. he was led to an interrogation room and photographed.

Kar's group was shackled, blindfolded and driven to Tikrit, in northern Iraq. U.S. officials there decided to take them to the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, where Kar and his group say they were subjected to violence and humiliation.

"At that point, the punch had been taken out of me," Kar said. "I wasn't responding and he [the interrogator] is pulling me up … and he just got a handful of skin and he's pulling me up. Skin comes loose, shirt rips and they're leading us into a processing area which looked like a lobby.

"Once we're inside the lobby, they make us face the wall, standing this time and they tell us to put our heads up against the wall. My head was about two inches from the wall and so he grabs my head and slams it against the cinderblock."

Kar was taken to another room, but his cameraman was asked to remove his clothes while the assembled group of guards laughed at him.

Kar's Iranian cameraman remained at Abu Ghraib but, as an American citizen, Kar was not allowed to be held there.

...................

"I understand suspicion," Kar says, "I don't understand wanton hostility. And it was wanton."

By the end of his second day of captivity, Kar was taken from Abu Ghraib to the detention camp at the Baghdad airport, Camp Cropper.

After Kar was processed at Camp Cropper, it took several days for the FBI to check out his story, and another 47 days to get a hearing with the military's Detainee Status Board. Even after he was cleared, it was still six more days before he was released.

....................

[Bombard]

Know what???????????

[Defiant]

Elementary history.

[Bombard]

Cyrus was a Persian from area of what is now southern Iran. What is now Iraq was Babylon ruled by the Chadeans. Northern Iran was ruled by the Medes who were ethnically close to the Persians. The Medes had been overlords of the Persians prior to Cyrus.

[Defiant]

You're getting there. Look up a map of the Persian empire under Cyrus.

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

On May 17, 2005, the taxi he was riding in was stopped at a Baghdad checkpoint and authorities found components in the trunk that are commonly used in improvised explosive devices. The taxi driver told military authorities that Kar and his cameraman knew nothing about the items, which the driver said he was bringing to his brother-in-law

Pretty much MOM lesson #1 be carefull of the company you keep.

[Deb]

I love your first paragraph. You haven't bought the media line, but you got your information from reading "extensively". B.S.

Instead of lawyering-up, playing the pathetic victim and demanding financing for his next cinematic effort, he should fall to his knees and thank the living God that he was picked up by us and not the happy beheaders. Maybe his survivors could have sued the military for not protecting him.

[Defiant]

You haven't got your information from reading extensively or minimally, but by being a cold-hearted beyatch. The assumption that this guy deserved what he got is not the kind of thinking that you typically associate with freedom-loving freepers. So the question becomes, what's driving the animus by all against this guy? Why does he not get a presumption of innocence? Especially since the FBI investigated and he did in fact turn up clean. As I said, that kind of presumption of guilt is what Murtha has been criticized for.

The fact is, when this happened last year, I read about it in the papers, looked into it from a number of sources, and reviewed the summaries of the FBI's report. Everything about the guy checked out. Then it got me to thinking: how would I expect to be treated in the same situation. Suppose I went to Iraq to set up a cell phone system, to be a civilian security provider, to assist the petroleum industry, to report on the current situation outside the green zone (like Mark Steyn did) or to make a film that needs footage from Iraq, like this guy did. I could certainly understand getting caught up by mistake, as happened to this guy, and I would excuse a lot of inconvenience. But I would also expect better treatment from my fellow citizens, respectful treatment once they knew I was a citizen AND a US navy vet, a quick investigation, prompt release upon its conclusion, and maybe even an apology for the inconvenience. If that happened to me, I would be inclined to forget about the whole thing.

But, were I to suffer abuse while imprisoned, unnecessarily have to endure crappy conditions, endure an unreasonably lengthy investigation, and be held for a week even after I was cleared by the FBI, I would be inclined to seek redress for that conduct. I have obtained 6 figure settlements for my clients for far, far less of an outrage--for example, a store security guard wrongfully detains an innocent person for several hours in a basement holding room. Our society values very highly the freedom of its citizens, and before you take someone's liberty for even one minute, you better have a good reason. And even if you initially have a good reason, you better not detain them for one minute longer once you have learned facts that negate the initial suspicions.

And were this to happen to me, I would also be dismayed, but perhaps not surprised, by loudmouth wenches on the internet suggesting that I had it coming. I'd figure that they were just bigoted, or possibly not really patriots, but more like statists, or that they have some other derangement that would explain their desire for me to suffer unwarranted harm.

[Defiant]

Here, I'll help out:

[Bombard]

Cyrus the Great was a Persian and was born in what is now southern Iran. He first moved against his then overlords the Medes who lived in what is now northern Iran. He then moved against Babylon in what is now Iraq and then against Lydia in what is now Turkey. He finished life campaigning against the Scythians in what is now southern Russia. That is historical fact Very little of his life was spent in what is now Iraq. So why was this filmmaker so keen to be in Iraq? One wonders what his true motives were or are.

[Defiant]

Cyrus conquered Babylon. The man is making a film about Cyrus. He wants some footage of Babylon. What are you, the editor?

The lengths people go to justify prior silly statements are just unbelievable sometimes. I saw an Alexander the Great 2 hour documentary on the History Channel recently. They had some stuff from Afghanistan and India in it (and Persia for that matter, Iraq perhaps, too.) Yet Alexander was in those places only a tiny fraction of his life. How silly of those History Channel people to get footage from those places. Don't they know what they're doing?

[Defiant]

Another case in point:

Ind. couple charged after detaining man (Citizen's arrest backfires)

In that just-posted story, some people were put in jail for briefly detaining a man without the legal right to do so. They face a $10,000 fine and 3 years in prison. America protects its citizens' liberty zealously. People like you don't care about "others", but you will care about it when and if it happens to you.

[Bombard]

You are quite a smart a++. It is clear all you seek is argument and not discussion. People like you give this site a bad reputation. Given that all you do is argue I will no longer waste time on answering you rants. Goodbye!!!

[Deb]

I didn't say "he had it coming". I'm saying (if he's so innocent), he doesn't deserve money for being so stupid as to go to the most dangerous place on earth to shoot his little film. And he certainly doesn't deserve the right to demand a change is US policy, in a time of war, for that stupidity.

Being such a huge supporter of this country and being so innocent...he should send a check to Rumsfeld and Casey and everyone else he's suing, for his accommodations and protection for two months.

The movie excuse is absurd. There's a million feet of available stock footage he could use to tell his little story.

Call me all the names you want. That's what dupes do.

[retMD]

I have a question for you, since you are adament he shouldn't have Iraq because it's a war zone. I believe this occurred a year ago - if my memory isn't faulty, things weren't so violent at that point, and many freepers were extolling all the peaceful areas and need for business, investment, etc. I suspect if you'd heard about this guy going over to do a movie in March of 2005, you'd have been praising him to the skies.

Or am I wrong - were you more aware of the dangers a year ago than many of us? Did you feel that it was so dangerous that no one should go Iraq outside the military?