A federal court has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for his role in crafting policies that led to torture in Iraq. In a two-to-one decision Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled two American citizens allegedly tortured at a U.S. military base in Iraq have adequate evidence suggesting Rumsfeld was personally responsible for their treatment and not entitled to qualify for immunity. The plaintiffs, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, were reportedly arrested and tortured after collaborating with the FBI in an investigation of their employer in Iraq, the private security company Shield Group Security. The company subsequently revoked the men’s credentials for entering Iraq’s so-called Green Zone, effectively barring them from the safest part of the country. Shortly thereafter, they were arrested and detained by U.S. troops. The men were moved to Camp Cropper and subjected to physical and psychological torture at the hands of U.S. forces. Vance was held for three months and Ertel for six weeks. The two men were eventually released and never charged with a crime. Monday’s decision comes just one week after another U.S. district judge ruled a separate tortured-related lawsuit against Rumsfeld could proceed to trial.