Skip to main content

CIA renditions 'aided by 54 countries'



Countries were covertly involved in global kidnap, detention and torture programme, a human rights body says in report.



As many as 54 countries have been complicit in the CIA's extraordinary rendition operations in which terrorism suspects were held in secret prisons overseas or turned over to foreign governments for interrogation, a human rights organisation has said in a report.

The report, released on Tuesday, claims that foreign governments in Europe, Asia and Africa have been secretly involved in global kidnap, detention and torture of at least 136 people on behalf of the United States after September 11, 2001 attacks.

"By engaging in torture and other abuses associated with secret detention and extraordinary rendition, the US government violated domestic and international law, thereby diminishing its moral standing and eroding support for its counterterrorism efforts worldwide as these abuses came to light," the report said.

The report by the Open Society Justice Initiative said its information was based on "credible public sources" and "reputable human rights organisations".

The CIA declined comment on the report.

The governments accused of helping the CIA programmes included some staunch US allies such as Australia, Israel, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland and Ireland, and some not usually viewed as US-friendly such as Iran and Syria.

The report said Tehran had transferred 15 individuals to Afghanistan, which transferred them to the US government.

Amrit Singh, author of the report, described the involvement of foreign governments as "a continuum" which included the hosting of secret CIA prisons, providing intelligence and capture and detention of prisoners.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from New York, Singh said there was "a wide variety of complicity" from all involved.

'Globalising Torture'

"Responsibility for these violations does not end with the United States. Secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations, designed to be conducted outside the United States under cover of secrecy, could not have been implemented without the active participation of foreign governments. These governments too must be held accountable."

While Barack Obama, US president, after taking office in 2009 ordered the closing of secret CIA detention facilities, the
executive order "did not repudiate extraordinary rendition," the report said.

The New York-based rights group has called for the United States to end the controversial programme, close all secret prisons and investigate human rights violations that resulted from the practice.

The 256 page report, "Globalising Torture", comes ahead of the confirmation hearing of John Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday.

In reference to a December 2005 statement by Brennan that rendition was "absolutely vital" to countering terrorism, Singh said he "has some serious questions to answer". Singh went on to say she hopes the report will compel the Senate "to ask what he meant by that statement".

Internationally, OSJI wants other governments to end their involvement in the practice and take steps to ensure that counter-terrorism efforts do not violate human rights.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has ...
Post a Comment
Read more

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, sp...
1 comment
Read more