Editing Extraordinary rendition (section)

=== Investigations by multi-nation groups ===

==== Council of Europe investigation and its two reports ====
On 25 November 2005, the lead investigator for the [[Council of Europe]], Swiss lawmaker [[Dick Marty]] announced that he had obtained latitude and longitude coordinates for suspected black sites, and he was planning to use satellite imagery over the last several years as part of his investigation. On 28 November 2005, EU Justice Commissioner [[Franco Frattini]] asserted that any EU country which had operated a secret prison would have its voting rights suspended.<ref>{{cite news | first=Paul | last=Ames |title=EU May Suspend Nations With Secret Prisons | date=28 November 2005 | publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|location=United States | url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1352347 }}</ref> In a preliminary report, Dick Marty declared that it was "doubtful that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware" of the CIA kidnapping of a "hundred" persons on European territory and their subsequent rendition to countries where they may be tortured.<ref name="DickMarty_PDF_2006-01-22">Directed by Swiss senator Dick Marty, Entitled "Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states," see: {{cite web|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/24_01_06_detention.pdf |title=Information memorandum II on the alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe states }}, Dick Marty, 22 January 2006</ref>

The report from the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe directed by Dick Marty, and made public on 7 June 2006, was titled: "Alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states."<ref>June 2006 Council of Europe report available here: [http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?Link=/CommitteeDocs/2006/20060606_Ejdoc162006PartII-FINAL.htm HTML] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060610064258/http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?Link=%2FCommitteeDocs%2F2006%2F20060606_Ejdoc162006PartII-FINAL.htm |date=10 June 2006 }} and [http://assembly.coe.int/CommitteeDocs/2006/20060606_Ejdoc162006PartII-FINAL.pdf PDF] formats.</ref>

Following the publication of this report, the Council of Europe published its draft Recommendation and Resolution document which
found grounds for concern with the conduct of both the US and member states of the EU and expresses concern for the disregard of international law and the Geneva Convention. Following a 23-point resolution the document makes five recommendations.
* 1 refers to its Resolution on alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers involving Council of Europe member states.
* 2 recalling its previous recommendation on the legality of the detention of persons by the United States in Guantanamo Bay
* 3 urges the Committee of Ministers to draft a recommendation to Council of Europe member States containing:
:common measures to guarantee more effectively the human rights of persons suspected of terrorist offences who are captured from, detained in or transported through Council of Europe member States; and a set of minimum requirements for "human rights protection clauses", for inclusion in bilateral and multilateral agreements with third parties, especially those concerning the use of military installations on the territory of Council of Europe member States.
* 4 urgently requests that: an initiative be launched on an international level, expressly involving the United States, an Observer to the Council of Europe, to develop a common, truly global strategy to address the terrorist threat. The strategy should conform in all its elements with the fundamental principles of our common heritage in terms of democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law. Also, a proposal be considered, in instances where States are unable or unwilling to prosecute persons accused of terrorist acts, to bring these persons within the jurisdiction of an international court that is competent to try them. One possibility worth considering would be to vest such a competence in the International Criminal Court, whilst renewing invitations to join the Court to the United States and other countries that have not yet done so.
* 5 recommends improving the Council of Europe's ability to react rapidly and effectively to allegations of systematic human rights abuse involving several member States.

Several months before the publication of the Council of Europe report directed by Dick Marty, [[Gijs de Vries]], the EU's antiterrorism coordinator, asserted in April 2006 that no evidence existed that extraordinary rendition had been taking place in Europe. It was also said that the European Union's probe, and a similar one by the continent's leading human rights group had not found any human rights violations nor other crimes that could be proven to the satisfaction of the courts.<ref name="BostonGlobe060421">[https://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/04/21/eu_official_no_evidence_of_illegal_cia_action/ EU official: No evidence of illegal CIA action: Antiterror chief advises committee], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', 21 April 2006</ref> This denial from a member of the [[executive power]] of the EU institutions has been questioned by the [[European Parliament]] report, which was accepted by a vast majority of the Parliament in February 2007 (''[[#European Parliament's investigation and report|See below:The European Parliament's 14 February 2007 report]]'').

On the other hand, Dick Marty explained the difference of approach concerning terrorism between the EU and the US as following:
<blockquote>While the states of the Old World have dealt with these threats primarily by means of existing institutions and legal systems, the United States appears to have made a fundamentally different choice: considering that neither conventional judicial instruments nor those established under the framework of the laws of war could effectively counter the new forms of international terrorism, it decided to develop new legal concepts. This legal approach is utterly alien to the European tradition and sensibility, and is clearly contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<ref name="BBC_NOL_2006-06-07">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5055872.stm Rendition and the rights of the individual], [[BBC News]], 7 June 2006</ref></blockquote>

However, despite Marty's claims, the European Parliament investigations uncovered cooperation between European [[secret services]] and governments and the extraordinary renditions programs, making such a clear-cut distinction over-simplistic (''[[#European Parliament's investigation and report|see below]]''). Dick Marty himself has not accepted such a dualistic approach, as he showed that for the British government also, the phenomenon of Islamic terrorism was alleged to be so grave that the balance of liberties had to be reconsidered.<ref name="BBC_NOL_2006-06-07" /> Marty's report stated that:

<blockquote>The compilation of so-called "black lists" of individuals and companies suspected of maintaining connections with organisations considered terrorist and the application of the associated sanctions clearly breach every principle of the fundamental right to a fair trial: no specific charges, no right to be heard, no right of appeal, no established procedure for removing one's name from the list.<ref name="BBC_NOL_2006-06-07" /></blockquote>

The second report was released on 8 June 2007<ref>{{cite web|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/marty_08_06_07.pdf |title=Secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states: second report }}&nbsp;{{small|(528&nbsp;KB)}}, [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|Council of Europe Parliamentary]] Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, 7 June 2007</ref>

==== 27 June 2006 Council of Europe resolution ====
The [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] (PACE) accused the United States of operating a "clandestine spiderweb of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers" and called for EU regulations governing foreign intelligence services operating in Europe, and demanded "human rights clauses" in military base agreements with the USA.

In a resolution and recommendation approved by a large majority, the Assembly also called for:
* The dismantling by the US of its system of detentions and transfers.
* A review of bilateral agreements between Council of Europe member states and the US, particularly on the status of US forces stationed in Europe and on the use of military and other instrastructures, to ensure they conform to international human rights norms.
* Official apologies and compensation for victims of illegal detentions against whom no formal accusations, nor any court proceedings, have ever been brought
* An international initiative, expressly involving the United States, to develop a common, truly global strategy to address the terrorist threat which conforms to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta06/ERES1507.htm |title=Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly |publisher=Assembly.coe.int |date=27 June 2006 |access-date=17 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612123848/http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=%2FDocuments%2FAdoptedText%2Fta06%2FERES1507.htm |archive-date=12 June 2010 }}</ref>

==== European Parliament's investigation and report ====
The [[European Parliament]] launched its own investigation into the reports. In April 2006, [[Member of the European Parliament|MEPs]] leading the investigations expressed concerns that the CIA had conducted more than 1,000 secret flights over European territory since 2001, some to transfer terror suspects to countries that used torture. Investigators said that the same US agents and planes were involved over and over again.<ref name="NyTimes060427">[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/27/world/europe/27cia.html?ex=1303790400&en=f28193a7c7a919c0&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss European Inquiry Says C.I.A. Flew 1,000 Flights in Secret], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 27 April 2006</ref> The Parliament adopted a resolution in July 2006 endorsing the Council of Europe's conclusions, midway through its own investigation into the alleged program.<ref>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2006-0316+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN Texts adopted by Parliament. Thursday, 6 July 2006 – Strasbourg. Final edition: Extraordinary renditio]</ref>

"In a resolution passed on 14 February 2007 MEPs approved by a large majority (382 voting in favour, 256 against and 74 abstaining) their committee's final report, which criticized the rendition program and concluded that many European countries tolerated illegal [[CIA]] activities including secret flights over their territories. The countries named were: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.<ref name="Bbc070214">{{cite news | title=EU endorses damning report on CIA | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6360817.stm | access-date=14 February 2007 |publisher=BBC News | date=14 February 2007 }}</ref> The report ...

{{blockquote|''Denounces'' the lack of co-operation of many member states and of the [[Council of the European Union]] with the investigation;

''Regrets'' that European countries have been relinquishing control over their airspace and airports by turning a blind eye or admitting flights operated by the CIA which, on some occasions, were being used for illegal transportation of detainees;

''Calls'' for the closure of [the US military detention mission in] Guantanamo and for European countries immediately to seek the return of their citizens and residents who are being held illegally by the US authorities;

''Considers'' that all European countries should initiate independent investigations into all stopovers by civilian aircraft [hired by] the CIA;

''Urges'' that a ban or system of inspections be introduced for all CIA-operated aircraft known to have been involved in extraordinary rendition.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6361829.stm EU rendition report: Key excerpts], on the BBC News website</ref>}}

According to the report, the CIA had operated 1,245 flights, many of them to destinations where suspects could face torture. The Parliament also called for the creation of an independent investigation commission and the closure of the Guantanamo camp. According to Italian Socialist [[Giovanni Fava]], who drafted the document, there was a "strong possibility" that the intelligence obtained under the illegal extraordinary rendition program had been passed on to EU governments who were aware of how it was obtained. The report also uncovered the use of secret detention facilities used in Europe, including Romania and Poland. The report defines extraordinary renditions as instances where "an individual suspected of involvement in terrorism is illegally abducted, arrested and/or transferred into the custody of US officials and/or transported to another country for interrogation which, in the majority of cases involves incommunicado detention and torture".

==== UN report by Manfred Nowak ====
[[Manfred Nowak]], a special reporter on torture, has catalogued in a 15-page U.N. report presented to the 191-member [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]] that the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Sweden and Kyrgyzstan are violating international human rights conventions by deporting terrorist suspects to countries such as Egypt, Syria, Algeria and Uzbekistan, where they may have been tortured.<ref name="www.ipsnews.net.946">{{cite web | title=RIGHTS: U.N. Blasts Practice of Outsourcing Torture (See above) | url=http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=30949 | access-date=18 December 2005 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929105029/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=30949 | archive-date=29 September 2007 }}</ref>

"The United States is holding at least 26 persons as "[[ghost detainee]]s" at undisclosed locations outside of the United States," [[Human Rights Watch]] said on 1 December 2005, as it released a list naming some of the detainees. The detainees are being held indefinitely and incommunicado, without legal rights or access to counsel.<ref name="hrw.org.951">{{cite web | title=List of 'Ghost Prisoners' Possibly in CIA Custody | date=30 November 2005 | url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/30/usdom12109.htm | access-date=18 December 2005 }}</ref><ref name="www.hrw.org.952">{{cite web | title=U.S. Holding at Least Twenty-Six "Ghost Detainees" | date=December 2005 | url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/11/30/usdom12113.htm | access-date=18 December 2005 }}</ref>