COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The U.S. Department of State says a former Somalia military colonel who lives in Ohio shouldn’t be allowed to claim immunity from allegations he ordered the torture of a human rights advocate.

A lawsuit has accused the former colonel and Columbus resident, Abdi Aden Magan (AB’-dee AH’-den mah-gen), of overseeing the detention and torture of a human rights advocate in Somalia in 1988.

The State Department says in a Tuesday letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office that Magan is a former official of a country with no government currently recognized by the United States.

The rights advocate and attorney suing Magan also say a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year in a related case shut the door on any immunity claim.

A message was left for Magan’s attorney.

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AP

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