Appeals court judges in the US have decided that the Government can keep secret details of the controversial "extraordinary rendition" program the Bush administration put into place after 9/11, when foreign detainees were sent to other countries for questioning.

The sharply divided federal appeals court threw out a lawsuit that challenged Boeing’s role in flying terrorism suspects to secret prisons.

The complaint had been filed by five terrorism suspects who were arrested shortly after 9/11, since alleging they were flown to prisons around the world where they were allegedly tortured.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the men’s case in a 6-5 ruling Wednesday, citing national security risks.

The judges ruled the case could affect US national security.

In so doing, the court reinforced the powers of the president to invoke the so-called state secrets privilege to stop lawsuits that could create national security problems.

While critics of "extraordinary rendition" had hoped President Barack Obama would curtail its use, his administration has continued to challenge the lawsuit brought by the five suspects.

The terror suspects had sued Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan in 2007, alleging that the San Jose-based subsidiary conspired with the CIA to operate the program.