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| EU Legislators Slam Member States over CIA Scandal |
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A special committee of the European Parliament Tuesday approved a report alleging that Britain, Poland, Austria, Italy and other EU nations were aware of secret CIA flights over Europe and the abduction of terror suspects by US agents into clandestine detention centers. At least 1,245 flights operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) flew into European airspace or stopped over at European airports between 2001 and 2005, with many of them being used for extraordinary rendition, the EU legislature's temporary committee on CIA activities in Europe said in its final report. The report, adopted Tuesday by the committee and set for a vote in February by the whole parliament, said temporary secret detention facilities "may have been located at US military bases" in Europe and "there may have been a lack of control" over such bases by European host countries. The committee also chided member states and EU foreign and security chief Javier Solana for not fully cooperating with the committee during its investigation. European countries have been "turning a blind eye" to flights operated by the CIA which, "on some occasions, were being used for extraordinary rendition or the illegal transportation of detainees," said the report, which wrapped up 12 months of investigation by the parliament committee. The committee called on the European Council to "start hearings and commission an independent investigation without delay ... and where necessary, to impose sanctions on member states in case of a serious and persistent breach of Article 6." Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right of suspects to a fair trial before an independent tribunal and will be considered as innocent until proved guilty. In an amendment to the report which was narrowly passed Tuesday, the committee announced that from the available "circumstantial evidence," "it is not possible to acknowledge that secret detention centers were based in Poland." The report referred to 21 well-documented cases of extraordinary rendition in which victims were transferred through a European country or were European residents at the time of their kidnapping. The committee called on the European Council and the member states "to issue a clear and forceful declaration calling on the US Administration to put an end to the practice of extraordinary arrests and renditions." It also deplored the reluctance of many member states, including Austria, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Britain, and of the EU council, to provide information to the committee. At the same time, the committee complained about Javier Solana withholding information about the EU council's discussions to combat terrorism with US representatives. EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gijs de Vries was also criticized for being "unable to give satisfactory answers." The report called for the closure of the US prison in Guantanamo, Cuba and urged European countries "to immediately seek the return of their citizens and residents who are being held illegally by US authorities." Allegations that the CIA was holding terrorism suspects in Eastern Europe first emerged in the Washington Post in November 2005. Washington has refused to comment on whether secret CIA jails exist, but maintains that all its anti-terrorism operations fall within international law. US President Bush confirmed last September that the CIA had held high-level terrorism suspects at secret overseas locations, but Washington had refused to disclose which countries had been involved. (Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2007) |
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