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Council of Europe probe backs claims of CIA prison flights
AFX News Limited
December 13, 2005

PARIS (AFX) - The CIA appears to have abducted suspects in Europe and illegally transferred them to other countries, according to the preliminary results of a Council of Europe investigation released today.

'Legal proceedings under way in certain countries appear to show that individuals were abducted and transferred to other countries without respect for any legal assistance procedures,' the Swiss senator who leads the inquiry, Dick Marty, said as he presented his findings to date.

The rapporteur's comments, made at a meeting of the Council of Europe's human rights committee, were released in an official statement from the 46-member rights and democracy body.

Marty said the results of his investigation added weight to reports that the CIA flew terror suspects to and from secret prisons in Europe, and called for European governments to fully investigate the claims.

'The elements we have gathered so far tend to reinforce the credibility of the allegations concerning the transport and temporary detention of detainees -- outside all judicial procedure -- in European countries,' he said.

The rapporteur 'demands immediately that all member governments fully commit to uncovering the truth about flights and overflights on their territory in recent years, by aircraft transporting people arrested and detained outside of any legal procedure,' the statement said.

'If the allegations proved correct the member states would stand accused of having seriously breached their human rights obligations to the Council of Europe,' the statement said.

The rapporteur said he 'deplored the lack of information and explanation provided by (US Secretary of State Condoleezza) Rice during her visit to Europe,' according to the statement.

The United States has come under mounting international pressure over claims the CIA has been illegally using European airports and airspace to transport Islamic suspects between countries without legal process.

Reports have emerged of many hundreds of CIA flights, suspected of carrying undeclared prisoners across European airspace, since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

'It has to be said that the United States has never formally denied the allegations,' Marty told the rights committee.

Commentary:
Who do we believe? Condi (I can't tell the truth) Rice says we didn't do it, the facts say otherwise. Is she delusional or simply another pathological liar like everyone else in the Bush White House? Either way she's unfit. Unfit people usually get Time's "Person of the Year" award.

I know why the morally corrupt republican led Congress isn't doing anything to stop Bush's gross violations of US law, but where is the US Supreme Court? Rome is burning, it's time for them to do their jobs.