German abduction case gets murkier - did US pay?
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-16 08:55

'NEW ADMISSION'

Hans-Christian Stroebele, deputy leader of the opposition Greens, said the question of whether the United States had paid Masri was a significant new element.

"That is an additional admission. You don't pay money unless you're conscious of making a serious mistake," he told Reuters.

In a U.S. lawsuit against ex-CIA director George Tenet and other unnamed officials, Masri is seeking compensation of at least $75,000, plus "punitive and exemplary damages" and legal fees.

"If the Americans say he already received money ... then that's a question that is obviously significant to this legal case and I assume it will be cleared up in the United States," Stroebele said.

The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the reports of a pay-off, saying Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had addressed Masri's case during her trip to Germany this month.

In her public comments in Germany, Rice refused to discuss individual cases but acknowledged in general that mistakes could happen. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Rice had told her the United States had made a mistake in the Masri case but Rice's staff denied that she had admitted this.

"This is a matter pending litigation and as such I have nothing further to add to what the Secretary (Rice) has previously stated on this issue," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.

But a U.S. source familiar with the Masri case said he believed a sum of money was offered to the German national as compensation for his ordeal.

"I was told that was the plan and I have no reason to believe anything happened otherwise," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the recent court action.

Former U.S. envoy Coats declined to comment. "His security activities while ambassador to Germany remain classified," said Jessica Schnack, spokeswoman for the King & Spalding law firm in Washington, where he now works as a lobbyist.

Steinmeier on Wednesday said Germany played no part in the abduction of Masri, who was arrested in Macedonia on December 31, 2003 and then flown to Afghanistan, where he remained in jail until late May 2004.

The affair has drawn international attention at a time when Washington faces allegations that the CIA has run secret prisons in Europe and elsewhere, and covertly transferred suspects to countries where they may face torture.