Europe 'connived in CIA flights'

BBC

A report into secret US flights for terror suspects is expected to conclude that 14 European countries colluded with the CIA.
The document will be presented to the Council of Europe by Swiss MP Dick Marty after a seven-month inquiry.

An advance copy seen by the BBC says there is also evidence to support suspicions that secret CIA camps are or were located in Poland and Romania.

The two countries have strongly denied the allegation in the past.

The BBC's Tim Franks in Paris, where the report will be issued, says the charges are potentially explosive but the difficulty remains in securing the proof.


The report is quoted as saying: "It is now clear - although we are still far from having established the truth - that authorities in several European countries actively participated with the CIA in these unlawful activities."

According to the advance copy, countries such as Spain, Turkey, Britain, Germany and Cyprus provided "staging posts" for rendition operations.

Mr Marty is said to have concluded that the "spider's web" of US rendition flights is based on an "utterly alien" approach that breaches human rights.

The most serious charges are reportedly levelled at Poland and Romania, where Mr Marty says there is enough evidence to support suspicions that CIA secret prisons were established.

Human rights groups have criticised renditions for exposing detainees to the risk of torture.