|
The
War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings & Torture |
|
CIA-Kidnappings: Location of Secret CIA
Prisons in Europe |
|
|
|
Introduction This page lists the correspondence between
representatives of the European Union and the site owner with regards to his
information requests with regards to the CIA “rendition program” and the
existence of CIA “Black Sites” in Europe. |
|
|
|
Events
in Reversed Chronological Order December
22nd, 2009 - 3rd
Reply by the EU Council December
3rd, 2009 - 3rd
Letter to the EU Council April
7th, 2009 - 2nd
Reply from the EU Council March
30th, 2009 - Complaint sent
to European Ombudsman March
2nd, 2009 - 2nd
Letter to the EU Council February
18th, 2009 - Reply from the
EU Council January
27th, 2009 - Letter to the
Council of the European Union |
|
|
|
Related Documents January 22nd, 2009 - Executive Orders
13491, 13492 & 13493 Compilation
of 3 presidential documents filed at the U.S. Federal Register “[…] Sec. 4. Prohibition of Certain Detention
Facilities, and Red Cross Access to Detained Individuals. “(a) CIA Detention.
The CIA shall close as expeditiously as possible any detention facilities
that it currently operates and shall not operate any such detention facility
in the future. “(b) International Committee of the Red Cross Access
to Detained Individuals. All departments and agencies of the Federal
Government shall provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with
notification of, and timely access to, any individual detained in any armed
conflict in the custody or under the effective control of an officer,
employee, or other agent of the United States Government or detained within a
facility owned, operated, or controlled by a department or agency of the
United States Government, consistent with Department of Defense regulations
and policies. […]” December 5th, 2005 - Full Text: Rice Defends
US Policy News
article by BBC News “[…] For decades, the United States and other
countries have used 'renditions' to transport terrorist suspects from the
country where they were captured to their home country or to other countries
where they can be questioned, held or brought to justice. “In some
situations a terrorist suspect can be extradited according to traditional
judicial procedures. But there have long been many other cases where, for
some reason, the local government cannot detain or prosecute a suspect, and
traditional extradition is not a good option. “In those cases the local government can make the
sovereign choice to co-operate in a rendition. Such renditions are
permissible under international law and are consistent with the
responsibilities of those governments to protect their citizens. “Rendition is
a vital tool in combating transnational terrorism. Its use is not unique to
the United States, or to the current administration. Last year, then director
of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, recalled that our earlier
counterterrorism successes included 'the rendition of many dozens of
terrorists prior to September 11, 2001'. […] “Renditions take terrorists out of action, and save
lives. In conducting such renditions, it is the policy of the United States,
and I presume of any other democracies who use this procedure, to comply with
its laws and comply with its treaty obligations, including those under the
Convention Against Torture. […]” November 29th, 2005 - “Dear Secretary
[…]” Letter by Jack
Straw, Foreign Secretary, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office “[…] As the Presidency of the Council of the
European Union, I am writing to you on behalf of the European Union following
media reports suggesting violations of international law in the alleged US
detention or transportation of terrorist suspects in or through EU member
states. This matter was discussed by EU Foreign Ministers at the meeting of
the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 21 November. “The reports have attracted considerable parliamentary
and public attention. The EU would therefore be grateful for clarification
the US can give about these reports in the hope that this will allay
parliamentary and public concerns. “I am sharing a copy of this letter with my European
colleagues. […]” |
|
|
|
Correspondence/History December 22nd, 2009 - 3rd
Reply by the EU Council Dear Mr Ottmann, Thank you very much for your message received into
our public information service, from our colleagues of access to documents. After careful examination by all relevant departments
within the General secretariat, we can confirm that no information of the
type you refer to in your request, be it oral or written, has been received
by the Council. Disclaimer: “The information provided has been
prepared by the Public Information Service of the General Secretariat of the
Council of the EU and may not be regarded as constituting an official
position of the Council.” Yours sincerely, DGF - Public Information Service General Secretariat of the Council of the European
Union December 3rd, 2009 - 3rd
Letter to the EU Council Dear Sirs, I am sending you this letter to inquire about the
information that the U.S. government has communicated to you with regards to the
existence of so-called “CIA black sites”/CIA prisons in Europe. I am aware from my prior communication with the
Council of its position to withhold such information from the general public.
Nevertheless, as a citizen of the European Union, I strongly believe that I
have the right to obtain access to it. These are my questions: 1) From its discussions, oral or written
communication, with the U.S. government and its federal agencies, has the Council
obtained information about the existence of a “CIA Black Site”/CIA prison in
Antivilai, Lithuania? If this is indeed the case, when has the Council
obtained this information? Has the Council forwarded this information to the
Lithuanian government? 2) From its discussions, oral or written
communication, with the U.S. government and its federal agencies, has the
Council obtained information about the existence of a “CIA Black Site”/CIA
prison in Szymany, Poland? If this is indeed the case, when has the Council
obtained this information? Has the Council forwarded this information to the
Polish government? 3) From its discussions, oral or written
communication, with the U.S. government and its federal agencies, has the
Council obtained information about the existence of a “CIA Black Site”/CIA
prison at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airport and/or in Constanta, Romania? If
this is indeed the case, when has the Council obtained this information? Has
the Council forwarded this information to the Romanian government? Thank you very much in advance for answering these
information requests. Sincerely yours, Martin Ottmann April 7th, 2009 - 2nd Reply
from the EU Council Dear Mr Ottmann, Thank you for your email of 02/03/09 forwarded to us
by the Documentation service. Our sincere apologies for not having come back to
you sooner. Unfortunately, we cannot add much to our earlier
answer since the Council is not in a position to request the disclosure of
the location of CIA prisions in Europe because national security issues fall
clearly under the exclusive competence of the Member States. Sincerely, DG F - Public Information Service Secretariat General of the Council of the European
Union March 30th, 2009 - Complaint sent to
European Ombudsman […] What is the
decision or matter about which you complain? When did you become aware of
it? […] The EU Council failed to respond to my information
request. On January 27th, 2009 I had sent the
following e-mail inquiring about the Council’s intentions and plans to demand
information from the new U.S. administration about the location of CIA
prisons on EU territory. On February 18th, 2009, I received a
letter from the Council. Unfortunately, the response from the Council did not
at all address my question. On March 2nd, 2009, I again sent a
letter to the Council and asked for a precise answer for my initial
information request. Since then, I did not reveive any response by the
Council. For your information I attach the letter from Jack
Straw from November 29th, 2005 to Condoleezza Rice. At that time
Mr. Straw was the acting President of the Council of the European Union and
in this function, he inquired officially about the existence of secret CIA
prisons on the territory of the European Union. […] […] What, in
your view, should the institution or body do to put things right? The EU Council should actually and precisely address
my initial information request. […] March 2nd, 2009 - 2nd Letter
to the EU Council Dear Sirs, thank you for your e-mail from February 18th,
2009. Unfortunately your letter does not answer my initial
question, if EU Council uses the opportunity to demand from the new U.S.
administration the disclosure of the location of secret CIA prisons in Europe
and to request complete information about the illegal use of EU airspace by
the U.S. government for the transportation of detainees. I therefore have to ask you for a more precise
response, which actually answers this question. As a reminder, I have attached to this e-mail the
letter from Jack Straw from November 29th, 2005 to Condoleezza Rice, when he
demanded information on the "CIA rendition program" for the
Council. Sincerely yours, Martin Ottmann February 18th, 2009 - Reply from the EU
Council Dear Mr Ottmann, Thank you for your reply of 27 January. The responsible service has given the following
reply: “The Council welcomes President Obama’s executive
orders in which he decides to close down guantanamo within a year, end secret
detention and “enhanced interrogation” and a review of detention, trial,
transfer and interrogation policies in the fight against terrorism more
broadly. The Council has underlined many times in the past
that the existence of secret detention facilities where detained persons are
kept in a legal vacuum is not in conformity with international humanitarian
and human rights law. The EU torture guidelines state that States should ban
secret places of detention ensuring that all persons deprived of their
liberty are held in officially recognised places of detention and that their
whereabouts are known. However, the activities of intelligence services and
their supervision are in the exclusive competence of the Member States.” Best regards, […] January 27th, 2009 - Letter to the
Council of the European Union Dear Sirs, on January 22nd, 2009, the new U.S.
President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13491 “Ensuring Law
Interrogations”, which included an order to close down all “CIA detention
facilities”. In view of the past illegal activities of the U.S.
government on EU territory, will the EU Council now demand from the new U.S.
administration disclosure of the location of CIA prisons and information
about the illegal use of EU airspace by the U.S. government for the
transportation of detainees? Thank you in advance for the information. Sincerely yours, Martin Ottmann |
|
Back
to CIA kidnappings in Europe |