11.03.2005
East Europe 'Has Secret CIA Jails for Al-Qaida' (Guardian.co.uk)
Jamie Wilson in Washington and Ian Traynor in Zagreb
Thursday November 3, 2005
The Guardian
The CIA has been interrogating al-Qaida prisoners at a Soviet era compound in eastern Europe as part of a covert jail system set up after the September 11 attacks, according to the Washington Post. The secret facility is part of a network of "black sites" spanning eight countries, the existence and locations of which are known only to a handful of US officials and usually only the president and a few top intelligence officers in the host countries.
The internment network has also been kept almost entirely secret from the US Congress, which is charged with overseeing the CIA's covert actions, the newspaper said.
The CIA refused to comment on the allegations yesterday, but human rights groups demanded an urgent inquiry. "We've long been concerned that the USA could be running a totally secret network of 'war on terror' prisons and these claims need to be urgently investigated," an Amnesty International spokesman said.
Citing several former and current US intelligence and other officials, the Post said the CIA was holding the top 30 al-Qaida suspects at the secret facilities, where they were kept in dark, sometimes underground, cells in isolation from the outside world. They have no recognised legal rights, and no one outside the CIA is allowed to talk with them or see them.
The covert prison system was set up nearly four years ago in eight countries, including a facility in Thailand that was closed down after its existence was made public in 2003.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | East Europe 'has secret CIA jails for al-Qaida') ¶ 18:22
Thursday November 3, 2005
The Guardian
The CIA has been interrogating al-Qaida prisoners at a Soviet era compound in eastern Europe as part of a covert jail system set up after the September 11 attacks, according to the Washington Post. The secret facility is part of a network of "black sites" spanning eight countries, the existence and locations of which are known only to a handful of US officials and usually only the president and a few top intelligence officers in the host countries.
The internment network has also been kept almost entirely secret from the US Congress, which is charged with overseeing the CIA's covert actions, the newspaper said.
The CIA refused to comment on the allegations yesterday, but human rights groups demanded an urgent inquiry. "We've long been concerned that the USA could be running a totally secret network of 'war on terror' prisons and these claims need to be urgently investigated," an Amnesty International spokesman said.
Citing several former and current US intelligence and other officials, the Post said the CIA was holding the top 30 al-Qaida suspects at the secret facilities, where they were kept in dark, sometimes underground, cells in isolation from the outside world. They have no recognised legal rights, and no one outside the CIA is allowed to talk with them or see them.
The covert prison system was set up nearly four years ago in eight countries, including a facility in Thailand that was closed down after its existence was made public in 2003.
(More ... Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | East Europe 'has secret CIA jails for al-Qaida') ¶ 18:22
