Reports allege European role in CIA prisoner transfers

Reports allege European role in CIA prisoner transfers

Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty brushed aside the threat of legal action - and an interruption from MEP Ioan Mircea Pascu – to reassert his report’s conclusion that illegal prisoner transfers took place on European soil.
Speaking to journalists after talks with parliament's justice and home affairs and foreign affairs committees, Marty, together with European parliament rapporteur Claudio Fava, insisted that people had been detained against international laws and conventions.
“It is disturbing the way in which European governments have been keeping silent on the truth,” he said.
“We want to make sure that this matter is properly thrashed out.”
But in unusual scenes, the press conference was interrupted when Romanian MEP Pascu – one of those named in Marty’s report as having knowledge of the secret detentions – walked up and presented Marty with a written complaint.
Pascu later insisted to reporters that he did not know about any alleged detentions, and repeated his assertion made yesterday with parliament vice president Marek Siwiec that they both totally refuted the findings of the Marty and Fava reports.
Polish MEP Siwiec, also named in Marty’s report, has threatened legal action unless his name is removed.
“How could I hide something from the military when I was defence minister?” asked Pascu. “These accusations are unacceptable.”
But Marty insisted that his report was not about nailing individuals.
"These are not accusations," he said. "If you read the two reports, Romania is just one among a host of other countries mentioned."
"What about Italy, Bosnia, Macedonia and Sweden? It is not right to just focus on Romania."
Marty said that people have been kidnapped, and that this was clearly thanks to the cooperation of intelligence agencies.
He said that a few individuals knew what was going on.
Fava, rapporteur on parliament’s report on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners, said that the conclusions reached by both the European parliament and the council of Europe were largely the same.
"We identified 14 governments who assisted in extraordinary extraditions," he said.
"I stand by the conclusions of the report, and we call on the institutions to assume their responsibility."
Marty added that he had "no reason" to withdraw the names of Siwiec and Pascu, and that he was not prepared to make the apology demanded by the two MEPs.
"He (Siwiec) knew exactly what was happening," he said. "To be threatened by prosecution suggests someone kicking out."
Marty added that he was not "shaking in his shoes" at the prospect of legal action.
"As part of political debate, one is entitled to make political statements," he said.
Meanwhile Marty’s conclusions were welcomed by MEP Sarah Ludford, who was the vice-chair of the European parliament's own temporary committee on the subject.
“He (Marty) has been consistently supported by the ALDE group and the majority of MEPs, who shared the broad conclusions of his enquiry reports," she said.
"That Dick Marty has placed blame on some countries and individuals based on confidential information is due to member states' failure - condemned also by MEPs - to enquire properly into CIA flights and detention on their soil,” she added.