Extraordinary rendition
Part of a series on |
Kidnapping |
---|
Types |
By country |
Extraordinary rendition is a
Extraordinary rendition began under the administration of
In July 2014, the European Court of Human Rights condemned the government of Poland for participating in CIA extraordinary rendition, ordering Poland to pay restitution to men who had been abducted, taken to a CIA black site in Poland, and tortured.[5][6][7] Torture is banned under the European Convention on Human Rights, which 46 nations, including Poland, have pledged to uphold.
Background
By 2004, critics alleged that torture was used against subjects with the knowledge or acquiescence of the United States, where the transfer of a person for the purpose of torture is unlawful.[8][9] In addition, some former detainees, such as the Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib, claimed to have been transferred to other countries for interrogation under torture.[10] In December 2005, then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted:[11]
The United States has not transported anyone, and will not transport anyone, to a country when we believe he will be tortured. Where appropriate, the United States seeks assurances that transferred persons will not be tortured.
Between 2001 and 2005, CIA officers captured an estimated one hundred fifty people and transported them around the world.[12][13][14][15]
Under the Bush administration, rendered persons were reported to have undergone torture by receiving countries. Journalists, civil and constitutional rights groups, and former detainees have alleged that this occurred with the knowledge or cooperation of the administrations of the United States and the United Kingdom.[16]
Such revelations prompted several official investigations into alleged secret detentions and unlawful interstate transfers involving
Within days of his 2009 inauguration,
Definitions
Rendition, in law, is a transfer of persons from one jurisdiction to another, and the act of handing over, both after legal proceedings and according to law. "Extraordinary rendition," however, is a rendition that is extralegal, i.e. outside the law (see: kidnapping). Rendition refers to the transfer; the apprehension, detention, interrogation, and any other practices occurring before and after the movement and exchange of extrajudicial prisoners do not fall into the strict definition of extraordinary rendition. In practice, the term is widely used to describe such practices, particularly the initial apprehension. This latter usage extends to the transfer of suspected terrorists by the US to countries known to torture prisoners or employ harsh interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture.[22]
The Bush administration freely admitted to this practice; stating, among other provisions, that they have specifically asked that torture not be used. However, torture can still occur despite these provisions, and much documentation exists alleging that it has happened in many cases.[23][24][25][26] In these instances, the initial captor allows the possibility of torture by releasing the prisoner into the custody of nations that practice torture.
The next distinction of degree is that of intent, where much of the search for evidence continues. It has been alleged that some of those detainees have been tortured with the knowledge, acquiescence, or even participation of US agencies. A transfer of anyone to anywhere for torture would be a violation of US law.[22] New York attorney Marc D. Falkoff stated that such evidence, i.e. transfer for the purposes of torture, was an operational practice. In a court filing, Falkoff described a classified prisoner transfer memo from Guantanamo as noting that information could not be retrieved, as torture could not be used, and recommending that the prisoner be sent to a nation that practiced torture.[27]
Historical instances
Historical cases
The
According to Clinton administration official Richard Clarke:
'extraordinary renditions', were operations to apprehend terrorists abroad, usually without the knowledge of and almost always without public acknowledgment of the host government ... The first time I proposed a snatch, in 1993, the White House Counsel, Lloyd Cutler, demanded a meeting with the President to explain how it violated international law. Clinton had seemed to be siding with Cutler until Al Gore belatedly joined the meeting, having just flown overnight from South Africa. Clinton recapped the arguments on both sides for Gore: 'Lloyd says this. Dick says that.' Gore laughed and said, 'That's a no-brainer. Of course it's a violation of international law, that's why it's a covert action. The guy is a terrorist. Go grab his ass.'[28]
Both the Bush and Clinton cases involved apprehending known terrorists abroad, by covert means if necessary. The Bush administration expanded the policy after the
In a New Yorker interview with CIA veteran Michael Scheuer, an author of the rendition program under the Clinton administration, writer Jane Mayer noted:
In 1995, American agents proposed the rendition program to Egypt, making clear that it had the resources to track, capture, and transport terrorist suspects globally — including access to a small fleet of aircraft. Egypt embraced the idea ... 'What was clever was that some of the senior people in Al Qaeda were Egyptian,' Scheuer said. 'It served American purposes to get these people arrested, and Egyptian purposes to get these people back, where they could be interrogated.' Technically, U.S. law requires the CIA to seek 'assurances' from foreign governments that rendered suspects won't be tortured. Scheuer told me that this was done, but he was 'not sure' if any documents confirming the arrangement were signed.[30]
Scheuer testified in 2007 before Congress that no such assurances were received.[31] He acknowledged that treatment of prisoners may not have been "up to U.S. standards":
This is a matter of no concern as the Rendition Program's goal was to protect America. The rendered fighters delivered to Middle Eastern governments are now either dead or in places from which they cannot harm America. Mission accomplished, as the saying goes.[32]
Thereafter, with the approval of President Clinton and a presidential directive (
20th century
The CIA was granted permission to use rendition of indicted terrorists to American soil in a 1995 presidential directive signed by President Bill Clinton, following a procedure[34] established by George H. W. Bush in January 1993.[35]
The United States has since increasingly used rendition as a tool in the "war on terror", ignoring the normal extradition processes outlined in international law.[36] Suspects taken into United States custody are delivered to third-party states, often without ever having been on United States soil, and without involving the rendering countries.[37]
Critics have accused the CIA of employing rendition for the purpose of circumventing American laws mandating due process and prohibiting torture, labeling the practice "torture flights".[38] Sociological comparisons have been drawn between extraordinary rendition and the death flights implemented, most notably, by Argentina during the 1960s and 1970s.[39] Defenders of the practice argue that culturally informed and native-language interrogations are more successful in gaining information from suspects.[40][41]
Hundreds of documents retrieved from
In a number of cases, such as those of Khalid El-Masri and Maher Arar, suspects caught up in the procedure suffered lengthy detentions, despite ultimately being found innocent.[44] The CIA reportedly launched an investigation into such incidents of "erroneous rendition".[45]
21st century
Following the
According to a 4 December 2005 article in The Washington Post by Dana Priest:
Members of the Rendition Group follow a simple but standard procedure: Dressed head to toe in black, including masks, they blindfold and cut the clothes off their new captives, then administer an enema and sleeping drugs. They outfit detainees in a diaper and jumpsuit for what can be a day-long trip. Their destinations: either a detention facility operated by cooperative countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, or one of the CIA's own covert prisons—referred to in classified documents as "black sites", which at various times have been operated in eight countries, including several in Eastern Europe.[47]
Following mounting scrutiny in Europe, including investigations held by the Swiss senator Dick Marty who released a public report in June 2006, the US Senate, in December 2005, was about to approve a measure that would include amendments requiring the Director of National Intelligence to provide regular, detailed updates about secret detention facilities maintained by the United States overseas, and to account for the treatment and condition of each prisoner.[48]
Reported methods
Media reports describe suspects as being arrested, blindfolded, shackled, and sedated, or otherwise kidnapped, and transported by private jet or other means to the destination country.[49] The reports also say that the rendering countries have provided interrogators with lists of questions. Detainees, referred to as enemy combatants by the US administration, were commonly hooded and tethered to the floor of cargo planes during flights. As their movement was restricted by shackles they were required to wear diapers during the entire duration of flights.
Airline flights
On 4 October 2001, a secret arrangement was made in Brussels by all
Boeing Jeppesen international trip planning
On 23 October 2006, the New Yorker reported that
The suit was dismissed on 8 September 2010 by a federal appeals court because "going forward would reveal state secrets".[52]
Black sites
In 2005, The Washington Post and Human Rights Watch (HRW) published revelations concerning CIA flights and "black sites", covert prisons operated by the CIA and whose existence is denied by the US government. The European Parliament published a report in February 2007 concerning the use of such secret detention centers and extraordinary rendition (See below). These detention centers violate the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Convention Against Torture, treaties that all EU member states are bound to follow.[53][54][55]
According to
Extraordinary renditions and black sites in Europe
In January 2005, Swiss senator Dick Marty, representative at the Council of Europe in charge of the European investigations, concluded that 100 people had been kidnapped by the CIA in Europe—thus qualifying as ghost detainees—and then rendered to a country where they may have been tortured. Marty qualified the sequestration of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (aka "Abu Omar") in Milan in February 2003 as a "perfect example of extraordinary rendition."[58][59][60] (See below: Council of Europe investigation and its two reports)
According to
Prison ships
The United States has also been accused of operating "floating prisons" to house and transport those arrested in its War on Terror, according to human rights lawyers. They have claimed that the US has tried to conceal the numbers and whereabouts of detainees. Although no credible information to support these assertions has ever come to light, the alleged justification for prison ships is primarily to remove the ability for jihadists to target a fixed location to facilitate the escape of high value targets, commanders, operations chiefs etc.[65]
Example cases
Khaled Masri case
Abu Omar case
In 2003, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (aka "Abu Omar") was kidnapped by the CIA in Milan (Italy),[72] and deported to Egypt. His case has been characterized by the Swiss senator Dick Marty as a "perfect example of extraordinary rendition".[58] Abu Omar was kidnapped as he walked to his mosque in Milan for noon prayers.[73] He was transported on a Learjet (using the call sign SPAR 92) to Ramstein, Germany. SPAR (Special Air Resources) is the call sign used by US senior military officers and civilian VIPs for airlift transport.[74][75] A second plane took him to Cairo, where he was imprisoned and, he claims, tortured.[24]
In 2005, the Italian judge Guido Salvini issued a warrant for the arrest of 13 persons said to be agents or operatives of the CIA in association with Nasr's kidnapping. In December 2005, an Italian court issued a
In 2005, The Washington Post reported Italian court documents which showed that the CIA tried to mislead Italian anti-terrorism police who were looking for the cleric at the time. Robert S. Lady, the CIA's substation chief in Milan, has been implicated in the abduction. In a written opinion upholding the arrest warrant, judge Enrico Manzi wrote that the evidence taken from Lady's home "removes any doubt about his participation in the preparatory phase of the abduction."[79] Lady, however, alleged that the evidence had been gathered illegally, and has denied involvement in the abduction.[80] Photos of Robert (Bob) Lady and other defendants surfaced on the Web.[81]
In 2007, Nasr's lawyer said Egypt had released him and he was back with his family.[84]
In 2009, an Italian judge convicted 22 suspected or known CIA agents, a U.S. Air Force (USAF) colonel, and two Italian secret agents of the kidnapping. These were the first legal convictions in the world against people involved in the CIA's extraordinary renditions program.
Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmad case
A story in the Los Angeles Times in 2005 seems[vague] to corroborate the claims of "torture by proxy." It mentions the attorneys for Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmad, a detainee held by the Pentagon at Guantanamo Bay, filed a petition to prevent his being transferred to foreign countries. According to the petition's description of a redacted classified Defense Department memo from 2004, its contents say "officials suggested sending Ahmad to an unspecified foreign country that employed torture in order to increase chances of extracting information from him."
Mr Falkoff, representing Ahmad, continued: "There is only one meaning that can be gleaned from this short passage," the petition says. "The government believes that Mr. Ahmad has information that it wants but that it cannot extract without torturing him." The petition goes on to say that because torture is not allowed at Guantanamo, "the recommendation is that Mr. Ahmad should be sent to another country where he can be interrogated under torture."[85] In a report, regarding the allegations of CIA flights, on 13 December 2005, the rapporteur and Chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Swiss councillor Dick Marty, concluded: "The elements we have gathered so far tend to reinforce the credibility of the allegations concerning the transport and temporary detention of detainees—outside all judicial procedure—in European countries."[86] In a press conference in January 2006, he stated "he was personally convinced the US had undertaken illegal activities in Europe in transporting and detaining prisoners."[87]
Muhammad Bashmila case
Muhammad Bashmila, a former secret prisoner, now free in Yemen, gave an interview to the
Maher Arar case
Maher Arar, a Syrian-born dual Syrian and Canadian citizen, was detained at
He was finally released following intervention by the Canadian government. The Canadian government lodged an official complaint with the US government protesting Arar's deportation. On 18 September 2006, a Canadian public enquiry presented its findings, entirely clearing Arar of any terrorist activities.
In 2006, Arar received the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award from the Institute for Policy Studies for his ordeal. In 2007, Maher Arar received a public apology from the U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher, who apologized, stated that he would fight any efforts to end the practice.
In 2007, Arar was awarded $10.5 million in compensation from the Canadian government for pain and suffering in his ordeal and a formal apology from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.[92]
Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.
Bohumil Laušman
Other cases
This is a non-exhaustive list of some alleged examples of extraordinary rendition. Most cannot be confirmed.
- A Pakistani newspaper reported that in the early hours of 23 October 2001 a Yemeni citizen, Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed, a 27-year-old Karachi University, was spirited aboard a private plane at Karachi's airport by Pakistani security officers.[93]
- In October 2001, Baluchistan without proper visa documents.[95]
- In late 2001 Saddiq Ahmad Turkistani was freed by US forces from a Taliban prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan. At a news conference, he told reporters and U.S. officials he had been wrongly imprisoned for allegedly plotting to kill Osama bin Laden. He was then taken to a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, where he was stripped, bound and thrown behind bars. According to U.S. lawyers who represent him, in January 2002 he was sent to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nearly four years later, Turkistani remained there, despite being cleared for release early 2005 after a government review concluded he is "no longer an enemy combatant." It is unclear exactly when that determination was made, but Justice Department lawyers gave notice of it in an 11 October court filing.[96] According to a 26 June 2006 press release from the Saudi Arabian embassy,[97]Turkistani was released from Guantanamo to Saudi custody.
- In 2002, captured Al Qaeda leader Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi was rendered to Egypt where he was allegedly tortured. The information he provided to his interrogators formed a fundamental part of the Bush administration case for attacking Iraq, alleging links between Al Qaeda and Iraq. Al-Libi later recanted his story and it is generally believed that his stories of contact between the Saddam Hussein regime and Al-Qaeda were fabricated to please his interrogators.[98]
- Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery, two Egyptians who had been seeking asylum in Sweden, were arrested by Swedish police in December 2001. They were taken to Bromma airport in Stockholm, had their clothes cut from their bodies, suppositories were inserted in their anuses and they were put in diapers, overalls, hoods, hand and ankle cuffs, they were then put onto a jet with American registration N379P with a crew of masked men. They were flown to Egypt, where they were imprisoned, beaten, and tortured according to Swedish investigative programme Kalla fakta.[99]The Swedish ambassador visited them only six weeks later. Agiza was previously charged and sentenced in absentia with being an Islamic militant and was sentenced to 25 years, a sentence that was reduced to 15 years due to the political pressure after the Rendition became known. Al-Zery wasn't charged, and after two years in jail without ever seeing a judge or prosecutor he was sent to his village in Egypt. In 2008 Al-Zery was awarded $500,000 in damages by the Swedish government for the wrongful treatment he received in Sweden and the subsequent torture in Egypt.
- In March 2002, Giovanni Claudio Fava, documents demonstrated that "the Italian judicial authorities and the Italian Ministry for Home Affairs (the latter, acting on behalf of the Direzione Centrale della Polizia di Prevenzione cited in connection with the investigation by the Divisione Investigazioni Generali ed Operazioni Speciali) cooperated constantly with foreign secret services and were well aware of all Britel's movements and whatever unlawful treatments he received, from the time of his initial arrest in Pakistan."[101]
- In 2003, an Algerian named Laid Saidi was abducted in Tanzania and taken to Afghanistan, where he was imprisoned and tortured along with Khalid El-Masri.[102] His detention appears to have arisen through a mistranslation of a telephone conversation, in which U.S. officials believed he was speaking about airplanes (tairat in Arabic) when he had in fact been speaking about tires (tirat in Arabic).
- José Padilla. The Observer reported: "He went to Pakistan in June 2001 because, he says, he had a drug problem and wanted to quit. He was arrested on 10 April at the airport on his way back to England because of an alleged passport irregularity. Initially interrogated by Pakistani and British officials, he told Stafford Smith: "The British checked out my story and said they knew I was a nobody. They said they would tell the Americans." He was deprived of sleep by having heavy rock music played loudly throughout the day and night.[90][103]
- On 13 December 2004, Rodrigo Granda, a FARC terrorist was captured in Caracas, Venezuela by a group of Colombian intelligence officials. Granda was clandestinely transported to the Colombian city of Cúcuta, near the border with Venezuela, where his capture was legalised by the corresponding authorities.[104][105] After the capture of Granda became publicly known, the Venezuelan Government broke relations with Colombia as response of violations to its sovereignty.
- On 5 April 2006, Amnesty International released details of the United States' system of extraordinary rendition, stating that three Yemeni citizens were held somewhere in Eastern Europe.[106]
- On 21 February 2008, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted that two United States extraordinary rendition flights refuelled on Diego Garcia in 2002, and was "very sorry" that earlier denials by British government ministers were having to be corrected.[107]
- The case of Mohammed Haydar Zammar, now a terrorist for ISIL.
Investigations
Investigations by multi-nation groups
Council of Europe investigation and its two reports
On 25 November 2005, the lead investigator for the Council of Europe, Swiss lawmaker Dick Marty announced that he had obtained latitude and longitude coordinates for suspected black sites, and he was planning to use satellite imagery over the last several years as part of his investigation. On 28 November 2005, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini asserted that any EU country which had operated a secret prison would have its voting rights suspended.[108] In a preliminary report, Dick Marty declared that it was "doubtful that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware" of the CIA kidnapping of a "hundred" persons on European territory and their subsequent rendition to countries where they may be tortured.[109]
The report from the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe directed by Dick Marty, and made public on 7 June 2006, was titled: "Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states."[110]
Following the publication of this report, the Council of Europe published its draft Recommendation and Resolution document which found grounds for concern with the conduct of both the US and member states of the EU and expresses concern for the disregard of international law and the Geneva Convention. Following a 23-point resolution the document makes five recommendations.
- 1 refers to its Resolution on alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states.
- 2 recalling its previous recommendation on the legality of the detention of persons by the United States in Guantanamo Bay
- 3 urges the Committee of Ministers to draft a recommendation to Council of Europe member States containing:
- common measures to guarantee more effectively the human rights of persons suspected of terrorist offences who are captured from, detained in or transported through Council of Europe member States; and a set of minimum requirements for "human rights protection clauses", for inclusion in bilateral and multilateral agreements with third parties, especially those concerning the use of military installations on the territory of Council of Europe member States.
- 4 urgently requests that: an initiative be launched on an international level, expressly involving the United States, an Observer to the Council of Europe, to develop a common, truly global strategy to address the terrorist threat. The strategy should conform in all its elements with the fundamental principles of our common heritage in terms of democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law. Also, a proposal be considered, in instances where States are unable or unwilling to prosecute persons accused of terrorist acts, to bring these persons within the jurisdiction of an international court that is competent to try them. One possibility worth considering would be to vest such a competence in the International Criminal Court, whilst renewing invitations to join the Court to the United States and other countries that have not yet done so.
- 5 recommends improving the Council of Europe's ability to react rapidly and effectively to allegations of systematic human rights abuse involving several member States.
Several months before the publication of the Council of Europe report directed by Dick Marty,
On the other hand, Dick Marty explained the difference of approach concerning terrorism between the EU and the US as following:
While the states of the Old World have dealt with these threats primarily by means of existing institutions and legal systems, the United States appears to have made a fundamentally different choice: considering that neither conventional judicial instruments nor those established under the framework of the laws of war could effectively counter the new forms of international terrorism, it decided to develop new legal concepts. This legal approach is utterly alien to the European tradition and sensibility, and is clearly contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[88]
However, despite Marty's claims, the European Parliament investigations uncovered cooperation between European
The compilation of so-called "black lists" of individuals and companies suspected of maintaining connections with organisations considered terrorist and the application of the associated sanctions clearly breach every principle of the fundamental right to a fair trial: no specific charges, no right to be heard, no right of appeal, no established procedure for removing one's name from the list.[88]
The second report was released on 8 June 2007[112]
27 June 2006 Council of Europe resolution
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) accused the United States of operating a "clandestine spiderweb of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers" and called for EU regulations governing foreign intelligence services operating in Europe, and demanded "human rights clauses" in military base agreements with the USA.
In a resolution and recommendation approved by a large majority, the Assembly also called for:
- The dismantling by the US of its system of detentions and transfers.
- A review of bilateral agreements between Council of Europe member states and the US, particularly on the status of US forces stationed in Europe and on the use of military and other instrastructures, to ensure they conform to international human rights norms.
- Official apologies and compensation for victims of illegal detentions against whom no formal accusations, nor any court proceedings, have ever been brought
- An international initiative, expressly involving the United States, to develop a common, truly global strategy to address the terrorist threat which conforms to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.[113]
European Parliament's investigation and report
The European Parliament launched its own investigation into the reports. In April 2006, MEPs leading the investigations expressed concerns that the CIA had conducted more than 1,000 secret flights over European territory since 2001, some to transfer terror suspects to countries that used torture. Investigators said that the same US agents and planes were involved over and over again.[114] The Parliament adopted a resolution in July 2006 endorsing the Council of Europe's conclusions, midway through its own investigation into the alleged program.[115]
"In a resolution passed on 14 February 2007 MEPs approved by a large majority (382 voting in favour, 256 against and 74 abstaining) their committee's final report, which criticized the rendition program and concluded that many European countries tolerated illegal
Denounces the lack of co-operation of many member states and of the Council of the European Union with the investigation;
Regrets that European countries have been relinquishing control over their airspace and airports by turning a blind eye or admitting flights operated by the CIA which, on some occasions, were being used for illegal transportation of detainees;
Calls for the closure of [the US military detention mission in] Guantanamo and for European countries immediately to seek the return of their citizens and residents who are being held illegally by the US authorities;
Considers that all European countries should initiate independent investigations into all stopovers by civilian aircraft [hired by] the CIA;
Urges that a ban or system of inspections be introduced for all CIA-operated aircraft known to have been involved in extraordinary rendition.[117]
According to the report, the CIA had operated 1,245 flights, many of them to destinations where suspects could face torture. The Parliament also called for the creation of an independent investigation commission and the closure of the Guantanamo camp. According to Italian Socialist
UN report by Manfred Nowak
Manfred Nowak, a special reporter on torture, has catalogued in a 15-page U.N. report presented to the 191-member General Assembly that the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Sweden and Kyrgyzstan are violating international human rights conventions by deporting terrorist suspects to countries such as Egypt, Syria, Algeria and Uzbekistan, where they may have been tortured.[118]
"The United States is holding at least 26 persons as "ghost detainees" at undisclosed locations outside of the United States," Human Rights Watch said on 1 December 2005, as it released a list naming some of the detainees. The detainees are being held indefinitely and incommunicado, without legal rights or access to counsel.[119][120]
Investigations by ngos
World Policy Council report
The
- 1) not only frustrates legitimate efforts to prosecute terrorists, but it makes a mockery of the high sounding principles that we hear invoked constantly.
- 2) robs us of the moral high ground and our justification for leadership in the world.
- 3) lowers us to the level of all those rogue and evil regimes that we have fought against in the past and against which we claim we are now struggling.[121]
Investigations by national governments
France
The French
Germany
Business daily Handelsblatt reported 24 November 2005, that the CIA used an American military base in Germany to transport terrorism suspects without informing the German government. The Berliner Zeitung reported the following day there was documentation of 85 takeoffs and landings by planes with a "high probability" of being operated by the CIA, at Ramstein, the Rhein-Main Air Base and others. The newspaper cited experts and "plane-spotters" who observed the planes as responsible for the tally.[123]
In January 2007, the German government indicted 13 alleged CIA operatives for the abduction in Macedonia, transport to Afghanistan, and torture of Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen mistakenly believed to be a terrorist.[124][125] Spanish authorities identified the suspected CIA abduction team from hotel records after a stopover by their Boeing 737 in Palma de Mallorca.[citation needed] Names of the alleged occupants of the rendition aircraft were James Fairing, Jason Franklin, Michael Grady, Lyle Edgard Lumsden III, Eric Fain, Bryam Charles, Kirk James Bird, Walter Richard Gressbore, Patricia Rilroy, Jane Payne, James O'Hale, John Decker, and Hector Lorenzo.[126]
Many of these names proved to be aliases. Investigations by news organizations including the Los Angeles Times,
None of the names or aliases in this case match those of the 26 alleged CIA agents prosecuted by Italy (see
Italy
In the "
These were the first convictions anywhere in the world arising from the CIA's practice of abducting terror suspects and transferring them to third countries where torture occurred.[137] The US had tried but failed to obstruct the prosecutions by Italy's independent judiciary.[138] Following the convictions the US used threats and diplomatic pressure to stop the Italian executive branch from issuing arrest warrants and extradition requests for the Americans.[138]
Ireland
The
Kosovo
In 2002, the
Portugal
Portugal opened up an investigation concerning CIA flights in February 2007, on the basis of declarations by Socialist MEP Ana Gomes and by Rui Costa Pinto, journalist of Visão review. The Portuguese general prosecutor, Cândida Almeida, head of the Central Investigation and Penal Action Department (DCIAP), announced the opening of investigations on 5 February 2007. They were to be centered on the issue of "torture or inhuman and cruel treatment," and instigated by allegations of "illegal activities and serious human rights violations" made by MEP Ana Gomes to the attorney general, Pinto Monteiro, on 26 January 2007.[146] In February 2008, the UK NGO Reprieve published a report based on flight logs obtained by Ana Gomes, confirming that over 728 prisoners were flown to Guantánamo through Portuguese airspace, and hence through Portuguese jurisdiction, in at least 28 flights.[147]
One of the most critic voice against the scarce collaboration provided by the Portuguese government to the European Parliament Commission which investigated CIA flights, Ana Gomes declared that, although she had no doubt that permission of these illegal flights were frequent during
On the other hand, journalist Rui Costa Pinto was heard by the DCIAP, as he had written an article, refused by Visão, about flights passing by Lajes Field, a Portuguese airbase used by the US Air Forces, in the Azores.[146]
Approximately 150 CIA flights which have flown through Portugal have been identified.[149]
Romania
Franco Frattini the European Union Justice Commissioner requested an explanation from the governments of Poland and Romania about the accusations made by Dick Marty. Doris Mircea (Romanian spokeswoman in Brussels) replied to this in November 2007 in a letter stating "no person was kept illegally as a prisoner within Romanian jails and no illegal transfer of detainees passed through Romanian territory" and that that was the official finding of a committee of inquiry set up by the government to investigate the accusations.[150]
Spain
In November 2005, Spanish newspaper
Sweden
Extraordinary rendition provoked a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Sweden in 2006 when Swedish authorities put a stop to CIA rendition flights.[156] In December 2001 Swedish police detained Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery, two Egyptians who had been seeking asylum in Sweden. The police took them to Bromma airport in Stockholm, and then stood aside as masked alleged CIA operatives cut their clothes from their bodies, inserted drugged suppositories in their anuses, and dressed them in diapers and overalls, handcuffed and chained them and put them on an executive jet with American registration N379P. They were flown to Egypt, where they were imprisoned, beaten, and tortured according to extensive investigate reports by Swedish programme Kalla fakta.[157] A Swedish Parliamentary investigator concluded that the degrading and inhuman treatment of the two prisoners violated Swedish law.[158] In 2006 the United Nations found Sweden had violated an international torture ban in its complicity in the CIA's transfer of al-Zari to Egypt.[159] Sweden imposed strict rules on rendition flights, but Swedish Military Intelligence posing as airport personnel who boarded one of two subsequent extraordinary rendition flights in 2006 during a stopover at Stockholm's Arlanda International Airport found the Swedish restrictions were being ignored.[156] In 2008 the Swedish government awarded al-Zery $500,000 in damages for the abuse he received in Sweden and the subsequent torture in Egypt.[156]
United Kingdom
After claims by
In July 2007, the British government's Intelligence and Security Committee released their Rendition report, detailing U.S. and U.K. activities and policies.[161][162]
On 21 February 2008, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted (despite previous government denials) that two U.S. extraordinary rendition flights had stopped on Diego Garcia in 2002, a U.K. territory.[163] When questioned as to whether the government had deliberately misled the public over rendition, the Foreign Secretary apologised and stated that the government had simply "made a mistake". His statement also laid out the current UK Government view on Extraordinary rendition;
Our counter-terrorism relationship with the United States is vital to UK security. I am absolutely clear that there must and will continue to be the strongest possible intelligence and counter-terrorism relationship with the US, consistent with UK law and our international obligations. As part of our close co-operation, there has long been a regular exchange with the US authorities, in which we have set out: that we expect them to seek permission to render detainees via UK territory and airspace, including Overseas Territories; that we will grant that permission only if we are satisfied that the rendition would accord with UK law and our international obligations; and how we understand our obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture.[164]
— David Miliband
A judicial inquiry, chaired by
"Erroneous rendition"
An article published on 5 December 2005, The Washington Post reported that the
Khalid El-Masri is the most well-known person who is believed to have been subjected to the process of "extraordinary rendition", as a result of mistaken identity. Laid Saidi, an Algerian detained and tortured along with El-Masri, was apprehended apparently because of a taped telephone conversation in which the word tirat, meaning "tires" in Arabic, was mistaken for the word tairat, meaning "airplanes".[102]
The Post's anonymous sources say that the Inspector General is looking into a number of similar cases—possibly as many as thirty innocent men who were captured and transported through what has been called "erroneous renditions".
A 27 December 2005 story quotes anonymous CIA insiders claiming there have been 10 or fewer such erroneous renditions.[169] It names the CIA's
The AP story quotes Tom Malinowski, Washington office director of Human Rights Watch who said:
I am glad the CIA is investigating the cases that they are aware of, but by definition you are not going to be aware of all such cases, when you have a process designed to avoid judicial safeguards.[169]
Obama Executive Order on rendition
Two days after President Barack Obama was sworn into office, on 22 January 2009, he signed an executive order entitled "Ensuring Lawful Interrogations".[170][18] Overall, the executive order calls for more oversight of interrogation by third parties, but does not end extraordinary rendition.[171] The section of the Executive Order relating to extraordinary rendition provides as follows:
- (e) Mission. The mission of the Special Task Force shall be:
- (i) to study and evaluate whether the interrogation practices and techniques in Army Field Manual 2 22.3, when employed by departments or agencies outside the military, provide an appropriate means of acquiring the intelligence necessary to protect the Nation, and, if warranted, to recommend any additional or different guidance for other departments or agencies; and
- (ii) to study and evaluate the practices of transferring individuals to other nations in order to ensure that such practices comply with the domestic laws, international obligations, and policies of the United States and do not result in the transfer of individuals to other nations to face torture or otherwise for the purpose, or with the effect, of undermining or circumventing the commitments or obligations of the United States to ensure the humane treatment of individuals in its custody or control.
- (f) Administration. The Special Task Force shall be established for administrative purposes within the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, provide administrative support and funding for the Special Task Force.
- (g) Recommendations. The Special Task Force shall provide a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Counsel to the President, on the matters set forth in subsection (d) within 180 days of the date of this order, unless the Chair determines that an extension is necessary.
- (h) Termination. The Chair shall terminate the Special Task Force upon the completion of its duties.
On 2 November 2009 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that victims of extraordinary rendition cannot sue Washington for torture suffered overseas, because Congress has not authorized such lawsuits, in ruling on Canadian citizen Maher Arar's case.
The administration has announced new procedural safeguards concerning individuals who are sent to foreign countries. President Obama also promised to shut down the CIA-run "black sites," and there seems to be anecdotal evidence that extreme renditions are not happening, at least not as much as they did during the Bush administration. Still, human rights groups say that these safeguards are inadequate and that the DOJ Task Force recommendations still allow the U.S. to send individuals to foreign countries.[172]
Other countries
CIA participating countries
According to a report by the Open Society Foundations, 54 countries participated at one point or another with the CIA's extraordinary rendition program:[173]
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belgium
- Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Canada
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- Finland
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Ireland
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Macedonia
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Pakistan
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Syria
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe
See also
- Extraterritorial jurisdiction
- Extraterritorial operation
- Long-arm jurisdiction
- Transnational repression
Bibliography
- Grey, Stephen (2006). Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program. New York City: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-36023-1.
- Thompson, A. C., and Trevor Paglen (2006). ISBN 1-933633-09-3.
- Paglen, Trevor (2010) Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World. New York: Duton. ISBN 978-0-451-22916-8
Notes
- .
- ^ Bush administration increased renditions
- Mayer, Jane (14 February 2005). "Outsourcing torture". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- "Senate Panel's Report Links Detainees' Murders to Bush's Torture Policy" The Public Record, 30 April 2009.
- Barnes, Greg and Miller, Julian. "Senate Report Says Rumsfeld to Blame for Detainee Abuse" Los Angeles Times, 12 September 2008.
- ^ Obama administration renditions
- Keeting, Joshua (16 June 2015). "Senate votes to ban torture: Will It Stick This Time?". Slate.com. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- Whitlock, Craig (1 January 2013). "Renditions continue under Obama, despite due-process concerns". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- Currier, Cora; Lee, Suevon (26 July 2012). "The Secret Prison". Slate. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ The findings that the UK intelligence agencies knew of torture during the Iraq War reveals the dark side of the special relationship, The Independent
- ^ AFP (24 July 2014). "European court condemns Poland over secret CIA torture prisons". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ Bilesfsky, Dan (24 July 2014). "Court Censures Poland Over C.I.A. Renditions". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ Lowe, Christian (17 February 2015). "European court rejects Polish appeal in CIA jail case". Reuters.com. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ a b Canadian sues US over deportation, BBC News, 23 January 2004
- ^ America's gulag. By Stephen Grey. 17 May 2004. New Statesman.
- ^ Nigel, Brew (2007). "Australians in Guantanamo Bay. A Chronology of the detention of Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks". Chronologies ONline. Retrieved 19 December 2019.[dead link]
- ^ "Remarks of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Upon Her Departure for Europe, 5 Dec 2005". U.S. State Department. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ Savage, Charlie (17 February 2009). "Obama's War on Terror May Resemble Bush's in Some Areas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ "Background Paper on CIA's Combined Use of Interrogation Techniques". 30 December 2004. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ "New CIA Docs Detail Brutal 'Extraordinary Rendition' Process". Huffington Post. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ a b Fact sheet: Extraordinary rendition, American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 29 March 2007 (in English)
- ^ Prince, Rosa (21 August 2011). "Britain condemned over extraordinary rendition". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
- ^ Resolution 1507 (2006). Archived 12 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states
- ^ a b "Ensuring Lawful Interrogations | The White House". Whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ "Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool". LA Times 1 February 2009. Access 21 November 2011.
- ^ Erdbrink, Thomas (1 September 2011). "N.Y. billing dispute reveals details of secret CIA rendition flights". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Renditions—and Secrecy Around Them—Continue". 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011. Panetta's clarification of current US "Rendition policy".
- ^ a b Michael John Garcia, Legislative Attorney American Law Division. "Renditions: Constraints Imposed by Laws on Torture", 8 September 2009; link from the United States Counter-Terrorism Training and Resources for Law Enforcement web site Archived 14 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Rendition: Tales of Torture", BBC News Online, 7 December 2005. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ a b Wilkinson, T. and G. Miller. (2005). "Italy Says It Didn't Know of CIA Plan" Archived 5 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2005.
- ^ "Mystery surrounds former customs agent in Arar case", CBC.CA
- ^ a b Markon, Jerry (19 May 2006). "Lawsuit Against CIA is Dismissed". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Pentagon Memo on Torture-Motivated Transfer Cited", Los Angeles Times, 8 December 2005. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
- ^ Richard A. Clarke, Against All Enemies pp 143–4
- S2CID 153831509.
- ^ a b Mayer, Jane. The New Yorker, 14 February 2005. "Outsourcing Torture: The secret history of America's 'extraordinary rendition' program". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 13 February 2005. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
- ^ "I have read and been told that Mr. Clinton, Mr. Berger and Mr. Clarke have said, since 9/11, that they insisted that each receiving country treat the rendered person it received according to U.S. legal standards. To the best of my memory, that is a lie." Extraordinary Rendition in U.S. Counter terrorism Policy: The Impact on Transatlantic Relations Archived 1 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, Subcommittee on Europe, 17 April 2007, p. 12.
- ^ Extraordinary Rendition in U.S. Counter terrorism Policy: The Impact on Transatlantic Relations. Archived 1 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, Subcommittee on Europe, 17 April 2007, p. 14.
- ^ "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States". govinfo.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Presidential directive PDD 39, 1995
- National Security Directive77, January 1993
- ^ Raymond Bonner: "The CIA's Secret Torture", The New York Review of Books, 11 January 2007
- ^ Piret, Jean-Marc (2008). "The war against terrorism, international law and the growth of unchecked executive power in the U.S." Cairn. Info. 60: 59–111.
- ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (19 January 2006). "Torture flights: what No 10 knew and tried to cover up". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 January 2006.
- ^ Austin, Jonathan Luke., 2015. "We have never been civilized: Torture and the Materiality of World Political Binaries." European Journal of International Relations, doi:10.1177/1354066115616466
- ^ 'Rendition' Realities, David Ignatius, The Washington Post, 9 March 2005; p. A21
- ^ Mackay, Neil (18 October 2005). "Two experts on extraordinary rendition: one invented it, the other has seen its full horrors". Sunday Herald. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. (link is to text of article on Craig Murray's website)
- ^ "Libyan dissident tortured by Gaddafi to sue Britain over rendition". The Guardian. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ "Discovered Files Show U.S., Britain Had Extensive Ties with Gaddafi Regime on Rendition, Torture". Democracy Now!. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- Democracy Now, 17 February 2005
- ^ "PACE - Doc. 10957 (2006) - Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states". assembly.coe.int. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "'Rendition' and secret detention: A global system of human rights violations", Amnesty International, January 1, 2006
- ^ Priest, Dana (4 December 2005). "Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Jehl, Douglas (15 December 2005). "Senate is Set to Require White House to Account for Secret Prisons". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Suspect's tale of travel and torture, Stephen Grey and Ian Cobain, The Guardian, 2 August 2005. "He says he was flown on what he believes was a US aircraft to Morocco, while shackled, blindfolded and wearing earphones"
- ^ Grey, Stephen (25 November 2007). "Flight logs reveal secret rendition". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- ^ The C.I.A.'s Travel Agent Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, 23 October 2006.
- ^ Finn, Peter (9 September 2010). "Suit dismissed against firm in CIA rendition case". The Washington Post.
- ^ Whitlock, Craig (17 November 2005). "Europeans Probe Secret CIA Flights". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "EU to look into 'secret US jails'". BBC News. 3 November 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Whitlock, Craig (4 November 2005). "U.S. Faces Scrutiny Over Secret Prisons". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "Exclusive: Sources Tell ABC News Top Al Qaeda Figures Held in Secret CIA Prisons". ABC News. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Kowalewski, Mariusz (17 April 2009). "Politycy nie pozwolili śledczym tropić lotów CIA". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Europe 'knew about' CIA flights". BBC News. 24 January 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
- ^ Wilkinson, Tracy (26 November 2005). "Europe in Uproar over CIA Operations". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 December 2005.[dead link]
- ^ "CIA Flights in Europe: The Hunt for Hercules N8183J". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Cobain, Ian (5 December 2005). "Special Reports: UK 'breaking law' over CIA secret flights". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- Democracy Now. 5 December 2005. Archived from the originalon 16 December 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "Soviet-era compound in northern Poland was site of secret CIA interrogation, detentions". Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
- ^ "Former Polish intelligence chief who says report on CIA detention site part of US domestic battle admitted CIA had access to facility". Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan; Norton-Taylor, Richard (2 June 2008). "US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ – (para. 205) El Masri v. Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- ^ "Protokoll Befragung Bundesinnenminister a.D. Otto Schily zur Entfuehrung von Khaled El Masri durch den CIA, 2006".[permanent dead link]
- ^ ACLU. "ACLU petition 2006" (PDF).
- ^ (para 151) El Masri v. Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- ^ "HUDOC – European Court of Human Rights". Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ Priest, Dana (4 December 2005). "Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ^ "Foto della Cia svela il sequestro dell'imam" [Photo of the CIA reveals the kidnapping of the imam]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 12 November 2005.
- ^ "Auditions sur le rapt d'un imam par la CIA" [Hearings on the abduction of an imam by the CIA]. Le Figaro (in French). 24 February 2006.
- ^ Hooper, J. (2 July 2005). "CIA methods exposed by kidnap inquiry". The Guardian.
- ^ "US military planes criss-cross Europe using bogus call sign". The Sunday Times. 19 February 2006.
- ^ "Milan tribunal document" (PDF). (1.44 MB), published by Statewatch, 22 June 2005
- ^ "EU-wide warrant over 'CIA kidnap'". BBC News. 23 December 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
- ISBN 9780521600460.
- ^ Whitlock, Craig (6 December 2005). "CIA Ruse is Said to Have Damaged Probe in Milan: Italy Allegedly Misled on Cleric's Abduction". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "Former CIA Agent to Fight Italian Warrant". Associated Press. 9 December 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
- ^ Renditioner photos: Wanted Poster for CIA's Robert Lady in Imam Rapito, Indymedia San Francisco, 30 March 2007.
- ^ "Italians held over 'CIA kidnap'". BBC News. 5 July 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
- ^ "Italian Spies Arrested, Americans Sought for Kidnap". Common Dreams. Reuters. 5 July 2006. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013.
- ^ "Egypt releases 'rendition' cleric". BBC News. 12 February 2007.
- ^ Ken, Silverstein (8 December 2005). "Pentagon Memo on Torture-Motivated Transfer cited". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "CIA abduction claims 'credible'". BBC News. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "Europe 'complicit over CIA jails'". BBC News. 14 January 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
- ^ a b c d Rendition and the rights of the individual, BBC News, 7 June 2006
- ^ "Report of the Events Relating to Maher Arar: Analysis and Recommendations" (PDF). (1.17 MB), Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar
- ^ a b c "Renditions: Tales of Torture", BBC News Online, 7 December 2005
- ^ a b "Appeals Court Rules in Maher Arar Case: Innocent Victims of Extraordinary Rendition Cannot Sue in US Courts". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ U.S. legislators apologize to Maher Arar, CBCNews, 18 October 2007
- ^ "Jet is an Open Secret in Terror War". The Washington Post. 27 December 2004. Archived from the original on 17 April 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2007.
- ^ "'Tortured' Australian speaks out". BBC News. 7 December 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Profile: Mamdouh Habib, BBC News, 7 December 2005
- ^ White, Josh; Wright, Robin (15 December 2005). "Detainee Cleared for Release Is in Limbo at Guantanamo". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Fourteen Guantanamo detainees returned to the Kingdom Archived 28 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington DC, 25 June 2006
- ^ Jeffery, Simon (9 December 2005). "Prewar claims 'sourced from rendition detainee'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ Transcript from a Swedish television show, "Kalla Fakta" (Cold Facts) in May 2004 in which the abduction is the topic. Part 1, Part 2
- ^ Renditions: Italian and European MPs set to request pardon for Abou Elkassim Britel, Statewatch, January 2007 (in English)
- ^ "Temporary Committee on the Alleged Use of European Countries by the CIA for the Transport and the Illegal Detention of Prisoners" (PDF). (353 KB), Rapporteur Giovanni Claudio Fava, European Parliament DT/65174EN.doc 7 February 2007, made accessible by Statewatch. Retrieved 18 February 2007 (in English)
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2006. (mirror Archived 16 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ "MI6 and CIA 'sent student to Morocco to be tortured'". The Guardian. London. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "BBC NEWS – Americas – Probe into Colombia rebel arrest". 5 January 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "LOS RASTROS QUE DEJÓ LA CAPTURA DE RODRIGO GRANDA EN VENEZUELA". eltiempo.com. 9 January 2005. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "Below the radar: Secret flights to torture and 'disappearance'". Archived from the original on 12 April 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2006.
- ^ "UK apology over rendition flights". BBC News. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ Ames, Paul (28 November 2005). "EU May Suspend Nations With Secret Prisons". ABC News.
- ^ Directed by Swiss senator Dick Marty, Entitled "Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states," see: "Information memorandum II on the alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe states" (PDF)., Dick Marty, 22 January 2006
- ^ June 2006 Council of Europe report available here: HTML Archived 10 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine and PDF formats.
- ^ EU official: No evidence of illegal CIA action: Antiterror chief advises committee, The Boston Globe, 21 April 2006
- ^ "Secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states: second report" (PDF). (528 KB), Council of Europe Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, 7 June 2007
- ^ "Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly". Assembly.coe.int. 27 June 2006. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ European Inquiry Says C.I.A. Flew 1,000 Flights in Secret, The New York Times, 27 April 2006
- ^ Texts adopted by Parliament. Thursday, 6 July 2006 – Strasbourg. Final edition: Extraordinary renditio
- ^ "EU endorses damning report on CIA". BBC News. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
- ^ EU rendition report: Key excerpts, on the BBC News website
- ^ "RIGHTS: U.N. Blasts Practice of Outsourcing Torture (See above)". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "List of 'Ghost Prisoners' Possibly in CIA Custody". 30 November 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "U.S. Holding at Least Twenty-Six "Ghost Detainees"". December 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- Kenton Keith; Huel D. Perkins; Charles Rangel; Cornel West; Clathan McClain Ross (July 2006). The Centenary Report of the Alpha Phi Alpha World Policy Council (PDF) (Report). Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Archived from the original(PDF) on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ (in French)"La France enquête sur les avions de la CIA". Le Figaro (in French). 2 February 2006.
- ^ "CIA Uses German Bases to Transport Terrorists, Paper Says". Deutsche Welle. 25 November 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ a b Landler, Mark, German Court Challenges C.I.A. Over Abduction The New York Times, 1 February 2007.
- ^ a b Slackman, Michael, Officials Pressed Germans on Kidnapping by C.I.A. The New York Times, 8 December 2010.
- ^ Horton, Scott, Arrest of 13 CIA Agents Sought in Spain Harpers Magazine, 12 May 2010.
- ^ a b Drogin, Bob and Goetz, John "Ghost Pilots: The Times Identifies Three Fliers Facing Kidnapping Charges in Germany Related to a 2003 Counter-terrorism Mission" Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Los Angeles Times, 18 February 2007
- ^ Krom, Chris and Doub, Jill, "Tracking the Ghost Pilots". The Nation, 3 March 2007.
- ^ Suspected CIA Kidnappers Identified Der Spiegel 21 September 2006
- ^ Grace, Francie "Thirteen Arrests Ordered by Germany". CBS News, 31 January 2007
- ^ a b Egelko, Bob, "WikiLeaks Cables Recount How U.S. Pressured Allies", San Francisco Chronicle, 6 March 2011.
- ^ Italy indicts 31 linked to CIA rendition case, International Herald Tribune, 16 February 2007 (in English)
- ^ Italian judge convicts 23 in CIA kidnap case, 4 November 2009
- ^ Italy trial of CIA kidnapping case begins NBC News 10 October 2010.
- ^ a b The appellate court's written ruling explaining the reason for the increased sentences is due in March 2011. Winfield, Nichole Italy appeals court ups US sentences in CIA trial[permanent dead link] Herald Online, 15 December 2010.
- ^ Times Topics, "Biography of Stephen R. Kappes" The New York Times, updated 15 April 2010.
- ^ Donadio, Rachel, "Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I.A. Renditions". The New York Times, 4 November 2009.
- ^ a b Goetz, John and Gebauer, Matthew, "US Pressured Italy to Influence Judiciary", Der Spiegel, 17 December 2010.
- ^ Grey, Stephen (14 November 2004). "US 'torture flights' stopped at Shannon". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 September 2005.
- ^ "Investigations into CIA 'torture flights'". Village. 25 November 2005. Archived from the original on 27 July 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
- ^ Kelley, Dara,WikiLeaks reveals Justice Minister's Dermot Ahern's rendition fears Irish Central, 18 December 2010.
- ^ EU to censure Ahern over rendition role Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The Irish Times, 24 January 2007.
- ^ "Watching America". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "Une "prison secrète" américaine a existé dans un camp de l'OTAN au Kosovo". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 28 November 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "US ran Guantanamo-style prison in Kosovo – Council of Europe envoy". Forbes. 25 November 2005. Archived from the original on 27 November 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ a b c Portugal: Renditions: Judicial investigation into CIA flights begins, Statewatch News Online, 5 February 2007 – 6 February 2007 (in English)
- ^ "Portugal: Over 700 prisoners flown to Guantánamo through Portuguese airspace". www.statewatch.org. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- Europa Press, 5 February 2007 (in Spanish)
- ^ Details about CIA flights requested to Portuguese government by MEP Ana Gomes. See Portugal: Evidence of illegal CIA rendition flights surfacing, Statewatch, October 2006 (in English)
- ^ "Romania says it had no CIA bases". BBC News. 15 November 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "El Gobierno canario pide explicaciones sobre vuelos de la CIA en Tenerife". El Pais. 16 November 2005. Archived from the original on 1 March 2006.
- ^ "La Fiscalía de Canarias investigará las escalas de vuelos de la CIA en Tenerife y Gran Canaria". El Mundo. 18 November 2005.
- ^ "Un supuesto avión de la CIA aterriza en la base portuguesa de Azores". Canarias 7. 28 November 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ Tremlett, Giles,Wikileaks: US pressured Spain over CIA rendition and Guantánamo torture rendition The Guardian, 1 December 2010.
- ^ Horton, Scott WikiLeaks Cables Reveal U.S. Tried to Thwart Spanish Probes of Gitmo Torture and CIA Rendition Interview with Amy Goodman, 1 December 2010.
- ^ a b c Nylander, Johan, CIA rendition flights stopped by Swedish military Archived 8 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine The Swedish Wire, 5 December 2010.
- ^ "Kalla Facta program Part IV-"The Broken Promise"". Human Rights Watch. 21 November 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ New Swedish Documents Illuminate CIA Action The Washington Post, 21 May 2005
- ^ Sweden Violated Torture Ban in CIA Rendition Human Rights Watch 9 November 2006.
- ^ Police reject UK rendition claims, BBC News Online, 9 June 2007
- Rt Hon Paul MurphyMP, Chairman; July 2007. Retrieved July 2007.
- ^ British Report Criticizes U.S. Treatment of Terror Suspects, Raymond Bonner and Jane Perlez, The New York Times, 28 July 2007. Retrieved July 2007.
- ^ "UK apology on US terror flights". BBC. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ "In full: Miliband rendition statement". BBC News. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "UK inquiry into rendition and torture collusion scrapped". BBC News. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "CIA wins fight to keep MPs in dark on rendition". The Independent. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- London Evening Standard. p. 15.
- ^ Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake: German Citizen Released After Months in 'Rendition', Dana Priest, The Washington Post, 4 December 2005
- ^ a b CIA watchdog probes 'renditions' of suspects, Associated Press, 27 December 2005
- ^ "Ensuring Lawful Interrogations". Whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ Johnston, David (24 August 2009). "U.S. Says Rendition to Continue, but With More Oversight". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Obama's extreme rendition policy is issued, but results still uncertain". Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition".