Judges Say Guantanamo Four Can't Sue

Four British citizens who spent over two years at Guantanamo Bay before being released without charge have been told they can't sue Pentagon officials, Reuters reports. The men brought the lawsuit over alleged torture, abuse, and violations of their religious rights. The US appeals court ruling yesterday said the defendants, including Donald Rumsfeld, had immunity because they were acting within their jobs; and religious protections don't apply to aliens held outside US territory.

The men's attorney said he would appeal to the Supreme Court. "It is an awful day for the rule of law and common decency when a court finds that torture is all in a days' work for the secretary of defense and senior generals," he said. Eighty protesters were arrested outside the high court in a demonstration marking 6 years to the day the first Gitmo prisoners arrived. (More Guantanamo Bay stories.)