Supreme Court rejects Guantanamo torture case

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by four former Guantanamo Bay prisoners arguing that they should be able to proceed with their lawsuit against top Pentagon officials for torture and religious abuse. The justices refused to review a U.S. appeals court ruling that dismissed the lawsuit by the four British citizens over their treatment at the U.S. military base on the grounds that officials such as ex-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld enjoyed immunity. The lawsuit filed by Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Rhuhel Ahmed and Jamal al-Harith targetted Rumsfeld and 10 military commanders who they say are ultimately responsible for their claims that they were subjected to various forms of torture, harassed as they practiced their religion and forced to shave their religious beards. According to the suit, in one instance, a guard threw a Koran in a toilet bucket. They claimed violations of a U.S. religious rights law and the U.S. Constitution. The Obama administration had urged the Supreme Court to reject the men's appeal.