EU states knew about CIA torture flights

European governments, including Britain, knew about secret CIA flights across the continent, members of the European Parliament concluded on Jan. 23, as they lambasted politicians and senior officials for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into secret US "renditions." Renditioning is a euphemistic term that US government officials have introduced to describe the practice of flying people the US alleges are terrorists to be questioned in countries where they have no rights under US law, and may be subjected to torture. Amnesty International and other human rights groups have heavily criticized the US over the practice. Former British defense secretary Geoff Hoon, now minister for Europe, was singled out for criticism in the new EU report which "deplored" the way he cooperated with a committee investigating claims that the CIA operated secret flights in the EU and set up covert prisons on European soil. Britain emerged as one of the main countries which tolerated a significant number of "black flights" and failed to assist British citizens who were abducted in other countries. The document expressed "serious concern about the 170 stopovers made by CIA-operated aircraft at UK airports, which on many occasions came from or were bound for countries linked with extraordinary rendition circuits and the transfer of detainees." It deplored "the stopovers at UK airports of aircraft which have been shown to have been used by the CIA," on other occasions, for "extraordinary renditions." The authors of the report also said they were outraged by the legal opinion of British Foreign Office adviser Michael Wood "according to which receiving or possessing information extracted under torture, as long as there is no direct participation in the torture, is not prohibited." But the European parliament's committee on CIA activities in Europe condemned a "lack of cooperation of many member states." Aside from Britain, the committee specifically criticized Austria, Italy, Poland and Portugal for what it said was their obstructive attitude. The committee called the renditions "an illegal instrument used by the USA in the fight against terrorism," and condemned some European states for their "acceptance and concealing" of the process. The report also concluded that "in some cases, temporary secret detention facilities in European countries may have been located at US military bases." The report's authors say the year-long investigation into CIA activities has established enough circumstantial evidence to corroborate widespread reports of secret rendition. The committee concluded that "the serious lack of concrete answers to the questions raised by victims, [non-governmental organizations], media and parliamentarians has only strengthened the validity of already well documented allegations." The committee set up to investigate the claims interviewed witnesses and obtained information from Eurocontrol, the EU's air safety agency, which revealed that more than 1,200 undeclared CIA flights entered European airspace after Sept. 11, 2001. The inquiry concluded: "It is implausible, on the basis of the testimonies and documents received, that certain European governments were not aware of the activities linked to extraordinary rendition on their territory." It was also "implausible that many hundreds of flights...could have taken place without the knowledge of either the security services or the intelligence services." The report concluded by recommending that national governments and parliaments launch their own independent investigations into what happened. It also urged states to have specific laws to "regulate and monitor the activities of third countries' secret services on their national territories." But according to Human Rights Watch, the European Parliament report tells only half the story when it comes to European complicity in torture. Alongside the EU commision's study, the human rights organization released a report which they say shows how EU states have relied upon empty promises of humane treatment, known as "diplomatic assurances," in efforts to justify the return of terrorism suspects to countries where they risk being tortured. "The European Parliament is right to focus on ending European complicity in illegal CIA activity," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "But if Europe is serious about ending its complicity in torture, it also needs to stop homegrown policies that undermine the global ban on torture." The Human Rights Watch report, which includes research conducted over the last three years, indicates that promises from governments that practice torture or target specific groups for such abuse are unreliable, unenforceable and ineffective. The most notorious example involves Sweden, which sent two Egyptian terrorism suspects to Cairo in December 2001 in the hands of the CIA, based on promises of humane treatment. Both were tortured on their return. "Diplomatic assurances simply do not protect against torture," said Cartner. "European governments have used these empty promises as a fig leaf to justify sending people to places where they risk being tortured." In July, the European Parliament called on member states "to reject altogether reliance on diplomatic assurances against torture."