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CIA Ran Secret Prisons for Detainees in Europe, Says Inquiry
The CIA operated secret prisons in Europe where terrorism suspects could be interrogated and were allegedly tortured, an official inquiry will conclude today.
Despite denials by their governments, senior Polish and Romanian security officials have confirmed to the Council of Europe that their countries were used to hold some of America's most important prisoners captured after 9/11 in secret.
None of the prisoners had access to the Red Cross and many were subject to what George Bush has called the CIA's "enhanced" interrogation, which critics have condemned as torture. Although suspicions about the secret CIA prisons have existed for more than a year, the council's report, seen by the Guardian, appears to offer the first concrete evidence. It also details the prisons' operations and the identities of some of the prisoners.
CIA ran secret prisons for detainees in Europe, says inquiry Stephen Grey Friday June 8, 2007 The Guardian
The CIA operated secret prisons in Europe where terrorism suspects could be interrogated and were allegedly tortured, an official inquiry will conclude today.
Despite denials by their governments, senior Polish and Romanian security officials have confirmed to the Council of Europe that their countries were used to hold some of America's most important prisoners captured after 9/11 in secret.
None of the prisoners had access to the Red Cross and many were subject to what George Bush has called the CIA's "enhanced" interrogation, which critics have condemned as torture. Although suspicions about the secret CIA prisons have existed for more than a year, the council's report, seen by the Guardian, appears to offer the first concrete evidence. It also details the prisons' operations and the identities of some of the prisoners.
Article continues The council has also established that within weeks of the 9/11 attacks, Nato signed an agreement with the US that allowed civilian jets used by the CIA during its so-called extraordinary rendition programme to move across member states' airspace. Its report states: "We have sufficient grounds to declare that the highest state authorities were aware of the CIA's illegal activities on their territories." The council's investigators believe that agreement may have been illegal.
The full extent of British logistic support for the extraordinary rendition programme was first disclosed by the Guardian, which reported in September 2005 that aircraft operated by the CIA had flown in and out of UK civilian and military airports hundreds of times.
The 19-month inquiry by the council, which promotes human rights across Europe, was headed by Dick Marty, a Swiss senator and former state prosecutor. He said: "What was previously just a set of allegations is now proven: large numbers of people have been abducted from various locations across the world and transferred to countries where they have been persecuted and where it is known that torture is common practice."
His report says there is "now enough evidence to state that secret detention facilities run by the CIA [existed] in Europe from 2003 to 2005, in particular in Poland and Romania". Mr Marty has told Channel 4's Dispatches, in a report to be broadcast on Monday, that the jails were run "directly and exclusively" by the CIA. This was only possible because of "collaboration at various institutional levels of America's many partner countries".
He succeeded in confirming details of the CIA's prisons by using his own "intelligence methods", which included tracking agents on both sides of the Atlantic, and persuading them to talk. Officials in Poland and Romania have repeatedly denied the existence of CIA facilities or the presence of detainees held by US authorities.
But Mr Marty concluded: "All the members and partners of Nato signed up to the same permissive - not to say illegal - terms that allowed CIA operations to permeate throughout the European continent and beyond ..." There was no immediate comment from Nato.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
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12 Comments so far
Show All"Enhanced" interrogation, my ass. Everyone knows it was torture. Bush will go down in history as the most shallow, mendacious, and venal SOB that's ever been in the White House. I'd love to see his trite, drunken ass dragged out in shackles and water-boarded.
Many of the countries are only complaining because we got caught. If they meant it they would refuse to meet with Bu$h the inferior or Dick 'shotgun' Cheney.
Associating willing with war criminals is no way to show disapproval of their actions. I don't allow perverts and criminals to stay in my house nor do I associate with them.
Any world leader who would refuse travel into their country of any top members of the Bu$h administration would be be doing the world a favor. Then we could believe they are really offended.
The key words here is that the Presidents of Poland,Rumania and Britain allowed that to happen and did not inform their parliaments,And they are not accountable for their actions. One can wonder how democracy and civil rights exist in those 3 countries.
Secret prisons were the caracteristic of auto cratic regimes with no civil rights. Why do you think that the first act of the French Revolution was the destruction of the Bastille.
???
Americans break countries laws by kidnapping citizens. They break international agreements and laws at will. They are a renigade nation and still cant understand why the rest of the world hates them.
Nato is a criminal organization that has outlived its purpose. Anyone remember Operation Gladio?
I demand that Canada resign from NATO immediately, as it is now exposed as a US led International Criminal Organization operating in violation of all international laws and treaties.
NATO = NEOCON ANAL TORTURE ORGANIZATION
Just remember that one of the owners of the Boston Red Sox lent his plane to the CIA to fly prisoners to "extraordinary rendition." His name is Morse and he will soon have to testify before congress.
Isn't there some sort of agreement that all EU nations must sign that prevents this?
And, will there be any consequences to Poland and Romania for their complicity in allowing this illegal imprisonment and torture on their soil?
Echoes of the concentration camps of year past....
and the United States is the perpetrator.
IMPEACH!!!
###
why doesn't this surprise me?
in the end, there will be no accountability.
What's more important now is to see whether the "highest officials" will be punished for signing off on a torture program. Something tells me that they will find a bunch of fall guys to serve time and all the top brass officials will retire without a scar. Freedom, democracy, human rights - my ass!
This kind of behavior is common among human beings who believe themselves "justified" or "in the right". In fact those same human beings will disavow the same kind of behavior they themselves indulge in when their opponents indulge in it.
If the American people ever wish to regain any sort of respect from the world, they will make sure that the perpetrators of such atrocities are punished, and not just the leaders, but all the way down to even the pilots of the aircraft who delivered the poor individuals who were placed into custody. All of those who participated in any way should be punished with heavy prison terms, fines, confiscation of property etc. This might just serve as a deterrent for fools in the future who believe themselves above the law.
If not then YOU may have a knock at YOUR door some night, and disappear into "rendition" .
The Bush administration may well serve to be the greatest gift that the USA ever had. They should serve as the utmost negative example of "government by the people", they should be punished for their many crimes, and serve their only purpose, that is that the people of the USA are not criminals, but law abiding people who will not tolerate criminals even in the highest places. Without that, then the USA is in danger of being invaded by foreign powers, partitioned and occupied for an indefinite period of time---because they are very dangerous people in need of close supervision.
Their history will bear this out by the manner in which they continue to treat the Native American people.
I never use the term "Indian" since non of my ancestors came from India.
Yellow Horse