Extraordinary Rendition: National investigations

This subject has been split into multiple articles due to the large amount of material

• Extraordinary Rendition
• Extrajudicial and erroneous Governments and law enforcement use procedures against their citizens deemed acceptable to operate the rule of law. The other justifications for using these procedures, outside of the rule of law, and cases determined to be erroneous, that is, not deemed acceptable, are examined.
• Extraordinary Rendition: International investigations
• Extraordinary Rendition: National investigations
• Extraordinary Rendition: Investigations by non-state actors
• Torture by nations participating in extraordinary rendition

Extraordinary rendition and irregular rendition describe the abduction and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is such a transfer to countries known to practice torture, with the intention of torturing the person by proxy at the destination location. Torture by proxy is denied by the US, but documented evidence of it exists, and a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe report concluded that it was "credible": "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." The chairman of the PACE stated "he was personally convinced the US had undertaken illegal activities in Europe in transporting and detaining prisoners."

Multiple sources of evidence exist to support the allegation that the CIA runs a secret global abduction and internment operation of suspected terrorists, known as “extraordinary rendition”, which since 2001 has captured about 3,000 people and transported them around the world.

At least three sources of evidence exist to support the allegation that torture has been employed with the knowledge or acquiescence of the Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom (torture by proxy).

Investigations by national governments

France

The French attorney general of Bobigny opened up an instruction in order "to verify the presence in Le Bourget Airport, on July 20, 2005, of the plane numbered N50BH." This instruction was opened following a complaint deposed in December 2005 by the Ligue des droits de l'homme (LDH) NGO ("Human Rights League") and the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) NGO on charges of "arbitrary detention", "crime of torture" and "non-respect of the rights of war prisoners". It has as objective to determine if the plane was used to transport CIA prisoners to Guantanamo Bay detainment camp and if the French authorities had knowledge of this stop. However, the lawyer defending the LDH declared that he was surprised that the instruction was only opened on January 20, 2006, and that no verifications had been done before. On December 2, 2005, conservative newspaper Le Figaro had revealed the existence of two CIA planes that had landed in France, suspected of transporting CIA prisoners. But the instruction concerned only N50BH, which was a Gulfstream III, which would have landed at Le Bourget on July 20, 2005, coming from Oslo, Norway. The other suspected aircraft would have landed in Brest on March 31, 2002. It is investigated by the Canadian authorities, as it would have been flying from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, via Keflavík in Iceland before going to Turkey.

Spain

In November 2005, Spanish newspaper El País reported that CIA planes had landed in the Canary Islands and in Palma de Mallorca. Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón, notable for his earlier attempt to prosecute Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, opened up an investigation concerning these landings which, according to Madrid, were made without official knowledge, thus being a breach of national sovereignty. Diplomatic cables exposed in 2010 by Wikileaks suggest that the United States government including the American ambassador, worked with parts of the Spanish government to subvert the Spanish judicial process to control and ultimately stymie and thwart the investigation.

Germany

Business daily Handelsblatt reported November 24, 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. The German government later sought to prosecute CIA operatives in connection with the abduction, transport to Afghanistan, and torture of Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen mistakenly believed to be a terrorist. The New York Times reported that "intense political pressure from Washington was the reason that Germany never pressed for arrest and extradition of 13 operatives believed to be from the C.I.A. who were ultimately charged in indictments issued in Spain and in Munich."

Kosovo

In 2002, the Council of Europe's Human rights commissioner Alvaro Gil-Robles witnessed "a smaller version of Guantanamo", he told France's Le Monde newspaper. Gil-Robles told the daily he had inspected the centre, located within the US military's Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, in 2002, to investigate reports of extrajudicial arrests by NATO-led peacekeepers.

Italy

One notable example is the "Imam Rapito affair" in Italy, in which Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (aka Abu Omar), a radical Islamist cleric, was kidnapped in a joint CIA–SISMI operation in Milan on February 17, 2003, was transferred to the Aviano Air Base, and was rendered to Egypt, where he was held until February 11, 2007, when an Egyptian court ruled his imprisonment was "unfounded." He claims he was tortured both on the Aviano Base and in Egypt. Italian prosecutors investigating the kidnapping, and have indicted 26 US citizens including the head of CIA in Italy Jeffrey W. Castelli and 24 other CIA agents. They have also sent extradition requests to the Italian Ministry of Justice, which has not delivered it to American authorities. SISMI chief General Nicolò Pollari and second-in-command Marco Mancini have been forced to resign, and were also indicted. On 4 November 2009, an Italian judge found 23 Americans and 2 Italians guilty. The sentences ranged from 5–8 years for the Americans and 3 years each for the Italians. All of the Americans were convicted in absentia, as the Italian government has refused or ignored all requests to move the trials to the United States and the American government has refused or ignored all extradition requests.

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 February 5, 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 January 26, 2007. 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.

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 Durão Barroso (2002–2004) and Santana Lopes (2004–2005)' governments, "during the [Socialist] government of José Sócrates [2005– ], 24 flights which passed through Portuguese territory" are registered. Active in the TDIP commission, Ana Gomes complained about the Portuguese state's reluctance to provide information, leading her to tensions with the Foreign minister, Luís Amado, member of the same party. Ana Gomes declared herself satisfied with the opening of the investigations, but underlined that she had always claimed that a parliamentary inquiry would be necessary.

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.

Approximately 150 CIA flights which have flown through Portugal have been identified.

United Kingdom

After claims by Liberty that British airports had been used by the CIA for extraordinary rendition flights, the Association of Chief Police Officers launched an investigation in November, 2005. The report was published in June, 2007 and found no evidence to support the claim. This was on the same day the Council of Europe released its report with evidence that the UK had colluded in extraordinary rendition, thus directly contradicting ACPO's findings. Liberty has challenged the findings and has stated that its original claims were based on "credible evidence".

In July 2007, the government's Intelligence and Security Committee released their Rendition report, detailing U.S. and U.K. activities and policies.

On February 21, 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. When questioned as to whether the government had deliberately misled the public over rendition, the Foreign Secretary apologied 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.

—David Miliband

Ireland

The government of Ireland has come under internal and external pressure to inspect airplanes at Shannon Airport to investigate whether or not they contain extraordinary rendition captives. Police at Shannon have said that they have received political instruction not to approach, search or otherwise interfere with US aircraft suspected of being involved in extraordinary rendition flights. Ireland has been censured by the European Parliament for its role in facilitating extraordinary rendition and taking insufficient or no measures to uphold its obligations under the UN CAT.

The situation is complicated at Shannon Airport because passengers flying to the USA are cleared for immigration to the USA by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Customs and Border Protection before boarding the flights and are kept in a "sterile gate lounge"

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.

See Also and References

Too many to be listed here; see Extraordinary Rendition and Extraordinary Rendition: Further Reading