(AP) EU: CIA Executed Over 1,000 Europe Flights

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cia_secret_prisons;_ylt=Aiu5wJO7M5quYBknZCVUfqOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

EU: CIA Executed Over 1,000 Europe Flights

By JAN SLIVA, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 28 minutes ago

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The
CIA has conducted more than 1,000 undeclared flights over European territory since 2001 — a clear violation of an international treaty, European Parliament investigators said Wednesday.

Lawmakers investigating alleged illegal CIA activities in Europe also said incidents when terror suspects were handed over to U.S. agents did not appear to be isolated, and that the suspects often were transported by the same planes and groups of people.

EU lawmakers presented a first preliminary report on their findings, working off data provided by Eurocontrol, the EU's air safety agency, and information gathered during three months of hearings and more than 50 hours of testimony by individuals who said they were kidnapped and tortured by U.S. agents, EU officials and rights groups.

Data showed that CIA planes made numerous stopovers on European territory that were never declared, violating an international air treaty that requires airlines to declare the route and stopovers for planes with a police mission, said Italian lawmaker Giovanni Claudio Fava, who drafted the report......

An interesting choice of wording.

As to the meat of the article, I hope the Bush administration is held to task for these abuses.

"a clear violation of an international treaty"


Now, who's going to hold this administration to account for such violations?

Wasn't that one of the many reasons offered up for the Iraq war?

Have they (SCOTUS) ruled that the US violated a treaty?

Doesn't that just make you proud of our government?

a convention. The actual torture probably took place between fligts and the patterns of flughts are probably going to point to location worthwhile investigating.

Im hopefull that there are going to be real investigations of this and the dismal approval ratings for Bush is probably making it more likely. Its anyones guess if this will get traction though.

Sensory deprivation. Recently ripped from the bosom of hearth and home with no earthly clue what is happening or where they are destined. Certain knowledge that they are in the hands of one of the most brutal regimes on earth. Sounds like torture to me.

· MEPs' report says member states knew of abductions
· Documents show 'strange routes' and stopovers

Richard Norton-Taylor
Thursday April 27, 2006
The Guardian

The CIA has operated more than 1,000 secret flights over EU territory in the past five years, some to transfer terror suspects in a practice known as "extraordinary rendition", an investigation by the European parliament said yesterday.

The figure is significantly higher than previously thought. EU parliamentarians who conducted the investigation concluded that incidents when terror suspects were handed over to US agents did not appear to be isolated. They said the suspects were often transported around Europe on the same planes by agents whose names repeatedly came up in their investigation.

They accused the CIA of kidnapping terror suspects and said those responsible for monitoring air safety regulations revealed unusual flight paths to and from European airports. The report's author, Italian MEP Claudio Fava, suggested some EU governments knew about the flights.

He suggested flight plans and airport logs made it hard to believe that many of the stopovers were refuelling missions. "The CIA has, on several occasions, clearly been responsible for kidnapping and illegally detaining alleged terrorists on the territory of (EU) member states, as well as for extraordinary renditions," said Mr Fava, a member of the European parliament's socialist group.

His report, the first interim report by EU parliamentarians on rendition, obtained data from Eurocontrol, the European air safety agency, and gathered information during three months of hearings and more than 50 hours of testimony by individuals who said they were kidnapped and tortured by American agents, as well as EU officials and human rights groups.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1762212,00.html