Evidence of Europe's Complicity in Torture Flights

The Council of Europe has completed an investigation into the involvement of the UK and several European countries in the CIA's 'extraordinary rendition' program (sending suspects to countries via secret flights in order to have them tortured).

Via the Guardian:

The full extent of European collusion with the CIA during operations to abduct terrorism suspects and fly them to countries where they may be tortured is laid bare today by the continent's most authoritative human rights body.
[...]
The report follows an investigation by Dick Marty, chairman of the Council's legal affairs and human rights committee. It has been obtained by the Guardian ahead of its publication in Paris today. Mr Marty says that far from being hoodwinked by a "CIA plot", 14 European states were fully aware of much of what was going on. "It is now clear - although we are still far from having established the whole truth - that authorities in several European countries actively participated with the CIA in these unlawful activities. Other countries ignored them knowingly, or did not want to know."

Although Mr Marty concludes that the US must bear responsibility for the extraordinary rendition, he says the programme could operate only with "the intentional or grossly negligent collusion of the European partners".

Marty was able to obtain EuroControl flight plans and his 'report provides the first official confirmation that some flights correspond with the accounts given by prisoners of their abduction and transfer to secret jails by the CIA.'

Mr Marty says that while Spain, Turkey, Germany and Cyprus have provided staging posts for rendition operations, Italy, Sweden, Bosnia, and Macedonia have all allowed the rendition of their residents from their soil. He accuses the latter of covering up its involvement in the CIA rendition of a German citizen, Khaled el-Masri, to Afghanistan, after he arrived in Macedonia in January 2004. Britain - like Ireland, Portugal, and Greece - is described as providing stopovers for CIA planes,

el-Masri's lawsuit against the US government was recently dismissed by a judge on the grounds that proceeding would reveal 'state secrets'. Perhaps his lawyers now have more evidence that is actually public knowledge to use as fodder for an appeal.

...the greatest criticisms levelled against London are about the handing over of information about its residents and former residents that has, says Mr Marty, led to renditions and torture. For instance, information about a former London student, Benyam Mohammed, 27, is alleged to have been used during his torture in Morocco, where he was taken following his arrest in Pakistan.

It was alleged that, in the case of Canadian Maher Arar, Canadian security services also provided US officials with information when he was sent to be tortured in Syria.

Mr Arar's lawsuit against the US government was also dismissed this year when it was held that it would reveal 'state secrets' - the new standard US Justice department defense for all uncomfortable cases.

Once Marty's report hits the US press on Wednesday, prepare to be bombarded by the usual plethora of denials from the White House on down. Does anyone ever nail the CIA for anything? It sure doesn't happen very often and, let's not forget, George Tenet was sent on his way with the Medal of Freedom for his tenure overseeing these torture flights.