On 13 December 2012, El-Masri won an Article 34 case at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The court determined he had been tortured while held by CIA agents and ruled that Macedonia was responsible for abusing him while in the country, and knowingly transferring him to the CIA when torture was a possibility. It awarded him compensation.[10][11] This marked the first time that CIA activities against detainees was legally declared as torture.[12] The European Court condemned nations for collaborating with the United States in these secret programs.