The ACLU is taking a break from persecuting the Boy Scouts, eradicating crosses from State seals, and giving awards to the Council on American Islamic Relations, to sue Donald Rumsfeld for “torture:” ACLU, Ex-Detainees to Sue Rumsfeld Over Abuse.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Human rights lawyers will file a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on behalf of eight men who say they were tortured by U.S. forces in custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, sources familiar with the case said.

The lawsuit charges that officials at the highest levels of the U.S. government shoulder ultimate responsibility for the physical and psychological injuries sustained by the men while in American custody.

It was the latest development in a scandal over ill-treatment of U.S. war prisoners that has drawn criticism from around the world.

The case will be filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First in U.S. District Court. The two groups scheduled a news conference later on Tuesday to announce details.

The groups did not state who would be named in the lawsuit, but sources familiar with the case said it was Rumsfeld.

“The men represented in the lawsuit were incarcerated in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they were subjected to torture and other cruel and degrading treatment, including severe and repeated beatings, cutting with knives, sexual humiliation and assault, mock executions, death threats, and restraint in contorted and excruciating positions,” the two groups said in a statement.

UPDATE at 3/1/05 9:43:12 pm:

The Department of Defense responds to the ACLU’s lawsuit: DoD Comment on ACLU and Human Rights First Lawsuit. (Hat tip: Chapomatic.)

There are 4 civil complaints under review within this Department and at the Justice Department.

We vigorously dispute any assertion or implication that the Department of Defense approved of, sanctioned, or condoned as a matter of policy detainee abuse.

No policies or procedures approved by the Secretary of Defense were intended as, or could conceivably have been interpreted as, a policy of abuse, or as condoning abuse.

There have been multiple investigations into the various aspects of detainee abuse.

None has concluded that there was a policy of abuse.

The Department of Defense has demonstrated a record that credible allegations of illegal conduct by U.S. military personnel are taken seriously and investigated.

- There have been 8 major reviews, inspections, and investigations; three more are in progress.

- To date, more than 100 individuals have undergone, or are undergoing, disciplinary proceedings. We anticipate there may be additional proceedings against additional individuals.

U.S. policy as expressed in relevant Defense Department orders, techniques, and procedures requires that detainees be treated humanely and in accordance with the law.

- The Geneva Conventions apply to the conflict in Iraq.

- The Al Qaeda and Taliban are unlawful enemy combatants who fail to comply with the laws of war.

- The President has ordered and Defense Department policy emphasizes that Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees be treated humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva.