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Extraordinary rendition and '''irregular rendition''' are terms used to describe the extrajudicial transfer of a person from one state to another, and '''Torture by proxy''' is used by some critics to describe extraordinary rendition by the United States, with regard to the alleged transfer of suspected terrorists to countries known to employ harsh interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture. Critics have alleged the use of torture has occurred with the knowledge or acquiescence of the United States. However on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme 1 April 2006 on the website of the United States Embassy in London Since the start of the ", 5 December 2005 The US program has raised a series of moral, judicial, and political issues, prompting several official concerning the use, or not, of references in the lead. --> One notable example is the " 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. The trial of the 26 Americans and 9 Italians has been scheduled to begin in June 2007. BACKGROUND While terrorist attacks. Critics — some of whom dub the procedure ", March 9 , 2005 ; Page A21 CIA desk officer Michael Scheuer, who co-authored the rendition policy and served on the CIA's Bin Laden tracking desk until 2004, has told the press that torture was used both before and after 9/11: “I have no doubt about it.”Neil Mackay, " experts on extraordinary rendition: one invented it, the other has seen its full horrors ," Sunday Herald, October 18, 2005 (link is to text of article on Craig Murray's website). In a number of cases, suspects to whom the procedure is believed to have been applied later appeared to be innocent. Outsourcing Torture: The Secret History of America's "Extraordinary Rendition" 17 February 2005 In the cases of Khalid El-Masri and Maher Arar the practice of extraordinary rendition appears to have been applied to innocent civilians, and the CIA has reportedly launched an investigation into such cases (which it refers to as " Erroneous Rendition "). The first well-known rendition case involved the '' fighter planes to land at the Naval Air Station Sigonella , an Italian military base in Sicily used by NATO , in an attempt to place them within judicial reach of United States Government representatives for transport to and trial in the United States. Usage by the Clinton Administration The procedure was developed by (ACLU), URL accessed on March 29, 2007 . According to Clinton Administration official pp. 143-144 In a '' New Yorker '' magazine 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." Thereafter, with the approval of President Clinton and a , where they were turned over to the Egyptian Mukhabarat . Usage by the Bush Administration Since the start of the , 5 December 2005 According to a December 4, 2005 article in the ''Washington Post'' by Radio 4's Today Programme 1 April 2006 on the website of the United States Embassy in London Following mounting scrutiny in Europe, including investigations held by Swiss senator Dick Marty who released a public report in June 2006, the US Senate was about, in December 2005, 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. 6 REPORTED METHODOLOGY Media reports describe suspects as being arrested, blindfolded, shackled, and sedated, or otherwise 2 August 2005 . "He says he was flown on what he believes was a US aircraft to Morocco, while shackled, blindfolded and wearing earphones" The reports also say that the rendering countries have provided interrogators with lists of questions. Airline flights In February 2007 it was reported that the JGO (Juliet Golf Oscar) former Call Sign assigned to defunct airline Jetsgo was allegedly used for planes going in and out of the Balkans, including Learjet 35 Executive Jets , C-130 Transport Plane s and MC-130P Combat Shadows . A '' Sunday Times '' analysis of flight plans and radio logs has placed these aircraft at locations including Tuzla In Bosnia , Priština in Kosovo, and Aviano Air Base in Northern Italy, as well as Ramstein , headquarters for the US Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ). On December 11 , 2004 , USAFE in Ramstein filed a flight plan for a Learjet 35 to fly from Tuzla to Aviano. USAFE changed its registration in flight, while keeping its humanitarian, diplomatic, and governmental status. While on ground at Tuzla in Bosnia, an Ilyushin 76 left Tuzla 55 minutes before, with 45 tons of surplus weapons and ammunitions, which were sold off by the Bosnian Military (at the time member of the Federation Of Bosnia And Herzegovina ) and destined to Rwanda . The latter country was currently subject to a UN Embargo on Arms-trade . An Amnesty International report quoted by the British newspapers suggested that "US security authorities were engaged in a covert operation to ferry arms to Rwanda in the face of political opposition from the European Union". Another strange convergence of flights happened in February 2004, according to ''The Sunday Times''. An MC-130P Combat Shadow using the call sign JGO 50 took off from Aviano to an unknown destination on February 24 . Two days later, it left Priština for Tuzla. A short time after, a Gulfstream 5 Executive Jet (call sign JGO 47) flew from Tuzla to Aviano. The next day, a Learjet 35 left Aviano for an unknown destination, using call sign SPAR 92. SPAR is short for SPecial Air Resources , a US military aircraft service that transport civilian VIPs and senior military officers. But SPAR 92 has been identified as the aircraft that was used to transport Hassan Nasr (aka Abu Omar), the cleric kidnapped in Italy in 2003 and for which CIA agents have been indicted in Italy ( ''See Below'' ). The US military denied the reports and stated that aircraft using the call sign were involved in a programme called " Joint Guard Operations " for the NATO-European peacekeeping mission in the Balkans (which established the SFOR ). However, "Joint Guard" ended in 1998. Inquiries also show that none of the US aircraft deployed in it match ones using the JGO call-sign.'' US military planes criss-cross Europe using bogus call sign '' February 17 2007, ''The Sunday Times''. Boeing Jeppesen International Trip Planning On October 23, 2006, the ''New Yorker'' claimed that Jeppesen , a subsidiary of Boeing, handled the logistical planning for the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights. The allegation is based on information from an ex-employee who quoted Bob Overby, managing director of the company as saying "We do all of the extraordinary rendition flights—you know, the torture flights. Let’s face it, some of these flights end up that way. It certainly pays well." The article went on to suggest that this may make Jeppesen a potential defendant in a law suit by Khaled El-Masri .Mayer, Jane. The C.I.A.'s Travel Agent . The New Yorker. 2006-10-23. In fact, Jeppesen was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on May 30, 2007, on behalf of several other individuals who were allegedly subject to extraordinary rendition. "Black sites" In 2005, the '' Washington Post '' and Human Rights Watch (HRW) published revelations concerning CIA flights and " Black Site s," covert prisons that are 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 ''). Such 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. 7 8 9 According to ABC News two such facilities, in countries mentioned by Human Rights Watch, have been closed following the recent publicity. CIA officers say the captives were relocated to the North African desert. All but one of these 11 high-value Al Qaeda prisoners were subjected to the harshest interrogation techniques in the CIA's secret arsenal, the so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" authorized for use by about 14 CIA officers. 10 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 a hundred persons had been kidnapped by the CIA in Europe – thus qualifying as Ghost Detainee s – and then rendered to a country where they may be tortured. Dick Marty qualified the sequestration of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (aka "Abu Omar") in Milan in February 2003 as a "perfect example of extraordinary rendition" 11 In addition to their own investigation the European countries will formally request an answer from the ) '' The Guardian '' reported on December 5 , 2005, that the British Government is "guilty of breaking International Law if it knowingly allowed secret CIA "rendition" flights of terror suspects to land at UK airports, according to a report by American legal scholars." 15 16 Criticisms of the Washington Post's decision to withhold locations of the black sites A comment by FAIR 17 on the Washington Post's decision, to withhold the locations of these secret prisons, was that since the revelations "could open the U.S. Government to legal challenges, particularly in foreign courts, and increase the risk of political condemnation at home and abroad," the ''Post'' did its part to minimize these risks. Yet, according to FAIR, "the possibility that illegal, unpopular government actions might be disrupted is not a consequence to be feared, however — it's the whole point of the U.S. First Amendment . Furthermore, by not disclosing these locations it would make it impossible to have them closed and thereby the ''Post'' is enabling the rendition, secret detention, and torture of prisoners at these locations to continue. Another consequence might be that U.S. soldiers and civilians are put at risk." 18 According to Raw Story , the Polish site identified by reporter Larisa Alexandrovna and Polish intelligence officer, David Dastych , is Stare Kiejkuty .
Both Alexandrovna and Dastych have stated that their sources told them that the same information and documents were provided to Washington Post in 2005. In addition, they also identified the methodology of concealing the black sites:
They go on to explain that "Such a site, sources say, would have to be near an airport." The airport in question is the Szczytno-Szymany Airport , according to Alexandrovna and Dastych. In response to these allegations, former Polish intelligence chief, Zbigniew Siemiatkowski , embarked on a media blitz and claimed that the allegations made by Alexandrovna and Dastych were "...part of the domestic political battle in the US over who is to succeed current Republican President George W Bush," according to the German news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur." 20 DEBATE OVER LEGALITY, UTILITY Evidence obtained illegally or under duress is inadmissible in US courts, and hampers court cases against suspected terrorists in the US. The trial of Zacarias Moussaoui , the only person to be indicted in the US in connection with the 9/11 attacks, was in part complicated by Moussaoui's requests for access to confidential documents and his assertion of a right to call al-Qaida members held in captivity in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base as witnesses, a demand rejected by government attorneys on the grounds that it would compromise confidential sources. The House of Commons Select Committee On Foreign Affairs in their first report published on 15 February 2006, points out that although both the UK and the U.S. have ratified UNCAT, the UK ratified it without reservations, while the US ratified CAT with a reservation that specifies the meaning of "mental pain or suffering" in more detail than Article 1 CAT; and that under U.S. legislation, the term "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" is interpreted according to the U.S. Constitution, (see Treaty Obligations , below). Having made this point the report goes on to say in paragraph 44 that: Extraordinary or irregular rendition
While Rice has denied that the CIA used torture, she refused to address the allegations of covert prisons that have caused consternation across Europe and not least in Romania . 21 22 23 The '', December 28 2005 A story published in The NewStandard in December 2005 notes: Torture Some proponents of extraordinary rendition, and the similarly controversial concept of Monday 23 May 2005 . Includes commentary on how some Americans have changed their attitudes to torture. Critics argue, however, that such practices are unethical, unconstitutional, ineffective, and defy the Geneva Conventions . INVESTIGATIONS Investigations by multi-nation groups The Council of Europe investigation and its two reports 2005 by the Swiss Onyx Interception System , as published in the Swiss press]] On 2006 ] The report from the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council Of Europe directed by Dick Marty , and given public on June 7, 2006, was titled: "Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states." June 2006 Council of Europe report available here: HTML and PDF formats. 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 5 recommendations.
: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.
Several months before the publication of the Council of Europe report directed by ''). 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 , June 7, 2006 However, despite Marty's claims, the European Parliament investigations uncovered cooperation between European Secret Services and governments and the extraordinary renditions programs, making such a clear-cut distinction over-simplistic ('' See Below ''). Dick Marty himself has not accepted such a dualistic approach, as he showed that for the British government also, the phenomenon of Islamic terrorism was alleged to be so grave that the balance of liberties had to be reconsidered. Marty's report stated that: ''"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."'' The second report was released on 8 June 2007 and can be found here {Link without Title} . June 27, 2006 Council of Europe resolution Parliamentary Assembly Of The Council Of Europe (PACE) calls for EU regulations governing foreign intelligence services operating in Europe, and demands “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 European Parliament's February 14, 2007 report The , Belgium , Cyprus , Denmark , Germany , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Spain , Sweden and the United Kingdom . 25 The report...
In April 2006, MEP in charge of the investigations had already expressed concerns that the CIA had conducted more than 1,000 secret flights over European territory since 2001, some to transfer terror suspects. Agents' names repeatedly came up in the investigation — which was said to suggest a pattern of operations, and flight configurations were highly suspicious. European Inquiry Says C.I.A. Flew 1,000 Flights in Secret , '' New York Times '', April 27 2006 The report criticized a number of European countries (including Austria, Italy, Poland, Portugal and the UK) for their "unwillingness to co-operate" and the action of Secret Services for lack of cooperation with the Parliaments' investigators and acceptance of the illegal abductions. The European Parliament voted in favour of a resolution condemning member states which accepted or ignored the practice. 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 Giovanni Fava , who drafted the document, there was a "strong possibility" that the intelligence obtained under the illegal extraordinary rendition program had been passed on to EU governments who were aware of how it was obtained. The report also uncovered the use of secret detention facilities used in Europe, including Romania and Poland. The report defines extraordinary renditions as instances where "an individual suspected of involvement in terrorism is illegally abducted, arrested and/or transferred into the custody of US officials and/or transported to another country for interrogation which, in the majority of cases involves incommunicado detention and torture". 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. 26 | |||
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