Transatlantic “Torture Taxis” and the Problem of Legal Accountability: The Case of North Carolina

Abstract

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. dramatically expanded the use of extraordinary rendition, an intelligence-gathering program through which individuals suspected of terrorism were abducted and transported beyond the reach of the law, held incommunicado, and interrogated by torture. Detained for years, many victims of the extraordinary rendition program were never formally charged with any crime, never given the opportunity to contact their families or an attorney and were eventually discarded once the CIA realized that these individuals had nothing to do with terrorist threats. These acts of kidnapping and torture occurred despite international treaties and federal and state statutes that prohibit such acts under all circumstances. By looking at the case of North Carolina, this chapter will examine efforts to hold the state, its political subdivisions, and a private contractor headquartered in NC accountable for their actions in facilitating extraordinary rendition.