European Report Addresses CIA Sites - Prisons in Poland, Romania, It Says
By Molly Moore and Julie Tate - Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, June 8, 2007; Page A16
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060702425.htmlPARIS, June 7 -- A European investigator said he has "factually established" that Poland and Romania allowed the CIA to operate secret prisons where alleged al-Qaeda operatives were detained and interrogated, according to documents scheduled to be presented Friday to Europe's official human rights organization.
Dick Marty, a Swiss lawyer for the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights agency, said detainees who were considered "especially sensitive" were incarcerated in Poland and those believed "to be less important were held in Romania," the documents said.
The documents, which were obtained by The Washington Post, include the cover letter and explanatory note of a report Marty has drafted, as well as a related draft resolution to be proposed to the council. Those documents did not provide details of the evidence Marty used to verify the participation of Poland and Romania in the covert CIA program.
Those two countries have repeatedly denied hosting CIA prisons. Marty said the two countries' government agencies did not cooperate with his investigation.
The report -- part of a larger investigation into partnerships among the CIA, NATO and European nations in the capture, transfer and detention of suspected terrorists -- reflects European outrage over the secret operations.
"Large numbers of people have been abducted from various locations across the world and transferred to countries where they have been persecuted and where it is known that torture is a common practice," Marty wrote, adding, "The fight against terrorism must not serve as an excuse for systematic recourse to illegal acts, massive violation of fundamental human rights and contempt for the rule of law." ..................