[NYTr] European Apathy Permitted CIA Kidnap-Torture Flights

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

European Apathy Permitted CIA Flights

Strasbourg, Nov 14 (Prensa Latina) European Union parliamentarian
Claudio Fava said on Wednesday that transference of prisoners on secret
CIA flights to US Guantanamo Naval Base was carried out through total
negligence of the European countries.

Fava told press the data provided by the Spanish Airports and Air
Navigation authority (AENA) published by El Pais daily, confirmed the
European governments" attitude.

AENA verified that 50 aircraft, mostly military planes, crossed the
Spanish sky to Guantanamo from 2002-2007.

Ten of them landed in that country, 22 were registered during Jose
Maria Aznar"s administration, and 25 in current Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero"s.

The EU deputy clarified that the European parliamentary commission he
president over - to investigate the illegal CIA activities in this
continent - was only based on the reports by the European civil flight
air traffic control authority.

He also said they always suspected that most transfers of kidnapped
terrorism suspects to secret prisons, to be tortured, were made on
military aircraft.

In February the European Parliament approved Fava"s report denouncing
the CIA illegalities in Europe and the silence of some regional
executives about those practices.

Without cooperation by many European governments, the CIA would have
not carried out the secret flights or prisoner transfers over European
countries, Favas told BBC in November 2006.

Fava also held top European Union officials, including Foreign Policy
and Security representative, responsible for providing incomplete
information to the EP commission.

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CIA Flights Used Ukraine Airports

Kiev, Nov 14 (Prensa Latina) The CIA used Ukrainian airports for its
secret flights with alleged terrorists, denounced Italian European
legislator Claudio Fava on Wednesday.

Fava told UNIAN news agency in Strasbourg that he has information
confirming those CIA flights with detainees, many of whom were torture
victims.

The European Socialist Party member integrated a Euro Chamber
commission probe into use of Europe for these flights and the
Commission investigation pointed to 14 countries, including Poland and
Italy.

The Commission found that those countries helped transfer people the
CIA kidnapped, by offering their airports, air space or installations
to confine them, violating the Geneva Convention on torture.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoli Gritsenko denied the accusations.

The EU handed the investigation to Parliament and promised sanctions
for those countries linked to the rendition flights that abducted and
secretly ferried people.

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