On Monday, a federal appeals court refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two US citizens against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and unnamed others for developing, authorizing and using harsh interrogation techniques against detainees in Iraq. Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel were working for private US government contractor, Shield Group Security, in 2006 when they witnessed the sale of US government weapons to Iraqi rebel groups for money and alcohol. After they became FBI informants and collaborated with an investigation into their employer, the company revoked their credentials for entering Iraq's so-called "Green Zone," effectively barring them from the safest part of the country. Shortly afterward, they were arrested and detained by US troops, moved to the US-run prison at Camp Cropper, and subjected to extreme sleep deprivation, interrogated for hours at a time, kept in a very cold cell and denied food and water for long periods. They were eventually released and never charged with a crime. For more on his story, Democracy Now! interviews Donald Vance, a US Navy veteran. Watch part two.