Black site
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225637624
2008-07-14T17:54:20Z
86.135.86.212
{{redirect|Blacksite|the 2007 video game|BlackSite: Area 51}}
{{wikisource|Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:SaltPitAfghanistan.jpg|thumb|225px|The [[Salt Pit]] in [[Afghanistan]].]] -->
In [[military terminology]], a '''black site''' is a location at which a [[black project]] is conducted. Recently the term has gained notoriety in describing secret prisons operated by the CIA, generally outside of the mainland U.S. territory and legal [[jurisdiction]], and with little or no political or public [[oversight]]. It can refer to the facilities that are controlled by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) used by the U.S. in its [[War on Terror]] to detain suspected [[enemy combatant]]s. One of the alleged purposes is to detain suspected [[terrorists]] outside of the [[Intelligence Oversight Act]] which authorizes [[United States Congress|Congressional]] supervision.{{Fact|date=January 2007}} Another purpose, according to the February 2007 [[European Parliament]] report, is for detaining suspects while CIA flights used in the [[Extraordinary rendition by the United States|extraordinary rendition]] program make their way through European territory <ref name="Bbc070214"> {{cite news | title=EU endorses damning report on CIA | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6360817.stm | accessdate=2007-02-14 | publisher=[[BBC]] | date=[[February 14]] [[2007]] }}</ref>.
[[President of the United States|US President]] [[George W. Bush]] acknowledged the existence of secret prisons operated by the [[CIA]] during a speech on [[September 6]], [[2006]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/06/bush.speech/index.html |publisher=CNN / AP |title= Bush: Top terror suspects to face tribunals |date=[[2006-09-06]] |accessdate=2006-09-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5321606.stm
| work= BBC News | title=Bush admits to CIA secret prisons | author=
|date=2006-09-07 | accessdate=2007-04-15
}}</ref> A claim that the black sites existed was made by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in November 2005 and before by [[human rights]] [[NGO]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html |publisher=Washington Post |title= CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons |date=[[2005-11-02]] |accessdate=2007-02-19}}</ref>
Many European countries{{Who?|date=October 2007}} have officially denied they are hosting Black Sites to imprison terrorists or cooperating in the US [[extraordinary rendition]] program. No countries have confirmed that they are hosting black sites. However, according to the [[European Union|EU]] report, adopted on February 14, 2007 by a majority of the [[European Parliament]] (382 [[MEP]]s voting in favour, 256 against and 74 abstaining), the CIA operated 1,245 flights, and stated that it was not possible to contradict evidence or suggestions that secret [[detention centres]] were operated in Poland and Romania. This 2007 report "regrets that European countries have been relinquishing control over their airspace and airports by turning a blind eye or admitting flights operated by the CIA which, on some occasions, were being used for illegal transportation of detainees" <ref name="Bbc070214"> {{cite news | title=EU endorses damning report on CIA | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6360817.stm | accessdate=2007-02-14 | publisher=[[BBC]] | date=[[February 14]] [[2007]] }}</ref><ref> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6361829.stm Key excepts of the February 2007 report] adopted by the European Parliament </ref>.
An investigation on the origins of the leaks has also been opened by the U.S. Justice Department to investigate what may have been illegal release of classified information.
==Controversy==
The revelation of such black sites adds to the controversy surrounding U.S. policy regarding '[[enemy combatant]]s'. According to government sources, the detainees are broken into two groups. Approximately 30 detainees are considered the most dangerous or important terrorism suspects and are held by the CIA at black sites under the most secretive arrangements. The second group is more than 70 detainees who may have originally been sent to black sites, but were soon delivered by the CIA to intelligence agencies in Middle Eastern and Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Morocco, and Egypt. A further 100 [[ghost detainee]]s kidnapped on European territory and rendered to other countries must be counted, according to Swiss senator [[Dick Marty]]'s report of January 2006. This process is called '[[extraordinary rendition]]'. Marty also underlined that European countries probably had knowledge of these covert operations. Furthermore, the CIA apparently financially assists and directs the jails in these countries. While the U.S. and host countries have signed the [[United Nations Convention Against Torture]], CIA officers are allowed to use what the agency calls 'enhanced interrogation techniques'. These have been alleged to constitute "severe pain or suffering" under the UN convention, which would be a violation of the treaty and thus U.S. law.
The fourteen European countries Marty listed as [[collaborationism|collaborators]] in "unlawful inter-state transfers" are Britain, Germany, Isle Of Man, Italy, Sweden, Bosnia, Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Spain, Cyprus, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Romania and Poland. Named airport bases include [[Glasgow Prestwick International Airport|Glasgow Prestwick Airport]], [[Shannon]], [[Ramstein Air Base|Ramstein]] and Frankfurt (Germany), [[Aviano Air Base]] (Italy), [[Palma de Mallorca]] (Spain), [[Tuzla Air Base]] (Bosnia-Herzegovina), [[Skopje]] (Republic of Macedonia), [[Athens]] (Greece), [[Larnaca International Airport|Larnaca]] (Cyprus), [[Prague]] (Czech Republic), [[Stockholm]], as well as [[Rabat]] (Morocco) and [[Alger]] (Algeria) <ref> See BBC map: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5056614.stm Secret CIA jail claims rejected], ''[[BBC]]'', June 7, 2006 </ref>. Polish Prime Minister [[Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz]] characterized the accusation as "libel", while Romania similarly said there was no evidence.
Britain's [[Tony Blair]] said that the report "added absolutely nothing new whatever to the information we have."<ref> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5056614.stm Secret CIA jail claims rejected], ''[[BBC]]'', June 7, 2006 </ref>
Poland and Romania received the most direct accusals, as the report claims the evidence for these sites is "strong." The report cites airports in [[Timişoara]], Romania, and [[Szymany]], Poland, as "detainee transfer/drop-off point[s]." Eight airports outside Europe are also cited.
===Waterboarding===
{{further|[[Waterboarding]]}}
In December 2005, [[ABC News]] reported that former agents claimed the CIA used [[waterboarding]], along with five other "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques", against detainees held in the secret prisons.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1375123
| work=ABC News
| title=Sources Tell ABC News Top Al Qaeda Figures Held in Secret CIA Prisons
| author=[[Brian Ross]] and Richard Esposito
|date=2005-12-05
| accessdate=2007-04-15
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url=http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1322866&page=1
| work=ABC News
| title=CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described
| author=[[Brian Ross]] and Richard Esposito
|date=2005-11-18
| accessdate=2007-04-15
}}</ref> Waterboarding is widely regarded as a form of [[torture]]<ref
>In April 2006, in a [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/06/usdom13130.htm letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales], more than 100 U.S. law professors stated unequivocally that waterboarding is [[torture]], and is a criminal felony punishable under the U.S. federal criminal code.</ref
><ref>According to Republican [[United States Senator]] [[John McCain]], who was tortured as a [[prisoner of war]] in [[North Vietnam]], waterboarding is "torture, no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank" and can damage the subject's psyche "in ways that may never heal." [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10019179/site/newsweek/page/2/ Torture's Terrible Toll, Newsweek, November 21, 2005.]</ref><ref>In its 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the [[U.S. Department of State]] formally recognizes "submersion of the head in water" as torture in its examination of [[Tunisia]]'s poor human rights record. {{cite journal | first = | last = U.S. Department of State| year =2005 | month = | title =Tunisia | journal = Country Reports on Human Rights Practices | url =http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61700.htm}}</ref><ref>A former senior official in the directorate of operations is quoted (in full) as saying: "'Of course it was torture. Try it and you'll see.'" Another "former higher-up in the directorate of operations" said "'Yes, it's torture'". At pp. 225-26, in Stephen Grey (2006). ''Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program.'' New York City: St. Martin's Press.</ref><ref>[http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002340----000-.html Chapter 18 United States Code, section 2340].</ref><ref>[http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_cat39.htm UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984]. 74 signatories and 136 parties have [http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/cat-ratify.htm ratified this treaty] as of November 2, 2004.</ref><ref>[http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/99_corr/2.htm Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court]. See Article 7, "Crimes against humanity," paragraph 2(e).</ref><ref>Benjamin Davis. [http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2007/10/endgame-on-torture-time-to-call-bluff.php Endgame on Torture: Time to Call the Bluff]. "Waterboarding has been torture for at least 500 years. All of us know that torture is going on."</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/10/carter.torture/ Carter says U. S. tortures prisoners], CNN, October 10, 2007. "The United States tortures prisoners in violation of international law, former President Carter said Wednesday. 'I don't think it. I know it,' Carter told CNN's Wolf Blitzer."</ref><ref>Michael Cooper and Marc Santora. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/us/politics/26giuliani.html McCain Rebukes Giuliani on Waterboarding Remark], ''New York Times'', October 26, 2007. Speaking about Waterboarding, John McCain stated in a telephone interview "They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture."</ref>, though there are reports that President Bush signed a secret "finding" that it is not{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, authorizing its use.
===American Psychological Association===
On August 19, 2007, the [[American Psychological Association]] ruled that psychologists can no longer be associated with such interrogation techniques because the methods are "immoral, psychologically damaging and counterproductive in eliciting useful information." The APA said that psychologists who witness interrogators using mock executions, simulated drowning, sexual and religious humiliation, stress positions or sleep deprivation are required to intervene to stop such abuse, to report the activities to superiors and to report the involvement of any other psychologists in such activities to the association. Failure to do so could lead the APA to strip those professionals of their membership, which could lead to revocation of their license(s) by the states in which they practice.
<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/19/AR2007081901513.html | publisher=The Washington Post | title=APA Rules on Interrogation Abuse: Psychologists' Group Bars Member Participation in Certain Techniques | author=Shankar Vedantam |date=2007-08-20 | accessdate=2007-08-20}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.apa.org/governance/resolutions/notorture0807.html | publisher=American Psychological Association | title=Reaffirmation of the American Psychological Association Position Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Its Application to Individuals Defined in the United States Code as “Enemy Combatants” |date=2007-08-19 | accessdate=2007-08-20
}}</ref>
==U.S. administration response==
Responding to the allegations, Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]] stated on [[December 5]] that U.S. had not violated any [[national sovereignty|country's sovereignty]] in the [[rendition (law)|rendition]] of terrorism suspects, and that individuals were never rendered to countries where it was believed that they might be tortured. Some media sources have noted her comments do not exclude the possibility of covert prison sites operated with the knowledge of the "host" nation,<ref>Rupert Cornwell, [http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article331460.ece 'Rendition' does not involve torture, says Rice] [[The Independent]] on [[6 December]] [[2005]]</ref> or the possibility that promises by such "host" nations that they will refrain from torture may not be genuine.<ref>Bronwen Maddox, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1905609_2,00.html Tough words from Rice leave loopholes], [[The Times]] on [[December 06]], [[2005]]</ref> Indeed, on [[September 6]] [[2006]] President Bush finally publicly admitted the existence of the secret prisons<ref>BBC News [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5321606.stm Bush admits to secret CIA prisons]</ref> and that many of the detainees held there were being transferred to Guantanamo Bay<ref>Reuters, [http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-09-06T181235Z_01_N06455488_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-USA-DETAINEES.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-3 Bush admits CIA held terrorism suspects outside U.S]</ref>.
In December 2002, [[The Washington Post]] reported that "the capture of al Qaeda leaders Ramzi Binalshibh in Pakistan, Omar al-Faruq in Indonesia, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in Kuwait and Muhammad al Darbi in Yemen were all partly the result of information gained during interrogations." The ''Post'' cited "U.S. intelligence and national security officials" in reporting this.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A37943-2002Dec25?language=printer | title=U.S. Decries Abuse but Defends Interrogations | publisher=Washington Post | author=Dana Priest and Barton Gellman |date=2002-12-26}}</ref>
In a September 29, 2006 speech, President [[George W. Bush|Bush]] stated "Once captured, [[Abu Zubaydah]], [[Ramzi Binalshibh]], and [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] were taken into custody of the Central Intelligence Agency. The questioning of these and other suspected terrorists provided information that helped us protect the American people. They helped us break up a cell of [[Southeast Asia]]n terrorist operatives that had been groomed for attacks inside the United States. They helped us disrupt an al Qaeda operation to develop [[anthrax]] for terrorist attacks. They helped us stop a planned strike on a U.S. Marine camp in [[Djibouti]], and to prevent a planned attack on the U.S. Consulate in [[Karachi]], and to foil a plot to hijack passenger planes and to fly them into [[Heathrow Airport]] and London's [[Canary Wharf]]."<ref>White House,[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060929-3.html Remarks by the President on the Global War on Terror], September 29, 2006</ref>
On [[April 21]] [[2006]], [[Mary O. McCarthy]], a longtime CIA analyst, was fired for leaking classified information to a ''Washington Post'' reporter, [[Dana Priest]], who was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize]] for her revelations concerning the CIA's black sites. Some have speculated that the information allegedly leaked may have included information about the camps.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/nws/nytimes37.htm |title=Colleagues Say C.I.A. Analyst Played by Rules" |publisher=New York Times |date=[[April 22]] [[2006]]}}</ref> McCarthy's lawyer, however, claimed that McCarthy "did not have access to the information she is accused of leaking." <ref> [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/24/AR2006042401601.html?sub=new Dismissed CIA Officer Denies Leak Role], ''[[Washington Post]]'', April 24, 2006 </ref> The ''Washington Post'', however, has put in doubt the black sites connection with her dismissal, positing instead that McCarthy "had been probing allegations of criminal mistreatment by the CIA and its contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan", and became convinced that "CIA people had lied" in a meeting with [[United States Senate|US Senate]] staff in June 2005.<ref name=WapO514>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/13/AR2006051301311_pf.html ''Washington Post'', "Fired Officer Believed CIA Lied to Congress", by R. Jeffrey Smith, May 14, 2006]</ref>
On [[July 20]] [[2007]] President [[George W. Bush|Bush]] made an executive order banning torture of captives by intelligence officials.<ref name=Reuters20070720>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2029519720070720
| publisher=[[Reuters]]
| title=Bush orders CIA to comply with Geneva Conventions
| author=[[David Morgan]]
| date=Friday, [[July 20]], [[2007]]
| accessdate=2007-07-20
}}</ref>
In a September 7, 2007 public address to the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] in New York, rare for a sitting Director of Central Intelligence, General [[Michael Hayden]] praised the program of detaining and interrogating prisoners, and credited it with providing 70 percent of the [[National Intelligence Estimate]] on the terrorist threat to America released in July. Hayden said the CIA has detained fewer than 100 people at secret facilities abroad since 2002, and even fewer prisoners have been secretly transferred to or from foreign governments. In a 20-minute question-and-answer session with the audience, Hayden disputed assertions that the CIA has used mock drowning, stress positions, hypothermia and dogs to interrogate suspects — all techniques that have been broadly criticized. "That's a pretty good example of taking something to the darkest corner of the room and not reflective of what my agency does," Hayden told one person from a human rights organization.
<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPMxKLv8VMTyTbkVgGpLC53w3lQg
| publisher=Associated Press
| title= Hayden: CIA Had Fewer Than 100 Prisoners
| author=Adam Goldman
|date=2007-09-07
| accessdate=2007-09-07}}</ref>
A [[Executive order (United States)|presidential directive]] allows the agency to capture and hold specific classes of suspects without accounting for them to the public, or revealing the conditions they face in the prisons.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Opponents of this practice{{Who?|date=October 2007}} charge that US officials have ordered (or deliberately overlooked) [[prisoner abuse]]. Apart from the hundred [[extrajudicial prisoners of the United States|CIA detainees]], Swiss politician [[Dick Marty]]'s January 2006 report concluded that another hundred had been kidnapped on European territory and [[extraordinary rendition|rendered]] to other countries, some of which use [[torture]].{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
==Detainees==
{{main|Detainees in CIA custody}}
The list of those thought to be held by the CIA include suspected al-Qaeda members [[Khalid Shaikh Mohammed]], [[Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin]], [[Ramzi Binalshibh]] and [[Abu Zubaydah]]. The total number of [[ghost detainee]]s is presumed to be at least one hundred, although the precise number cannot be determined because fewer than 10% have been charged or convicted. However, Swiss senator [[Dick Marty]]'s memorandum on "alleged detention in Council of Europe states" stated that about 100 persons have been kidnapped by the CIA on European territory and subsequently [[extraordinary rendition|rendered]] to countries where they may have been tortured. This number of 100 persons does not overlap, but adds itself to the U.S.-detained 100 ghost detainees.<ref name="Marty">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/24_01_06_detention.pdf Information memorandum II on the alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe state, rapported by Dick Marty, [[January 22]] [[2006]]]</ref>
A number of the alleged detainees listed above were transferred to the U.S.-run [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp|Guantanamo Bay]] prison on Cuba in the fall of 2006. With this publicly announced act, the United States government de facto also acknowledged the existence of secret prisons abroad in which these prisoners were held.
====Khaled el-Masri ====
{{main|Khalid El-Masri}}
Khalid El-Masri is a [[Germany|German]] citizen who was detained, flown to [[Afghanistan]], interrogated and allegedly tortured by the CIA for several months, and then released in remote Albania in May 2004 without having been charged with any offense. This was apparently due to a misunderstanding that arose concerning the similarity of the spelling of El-Masri's name with the spelling of suspected terrorist [[Khalid al-Masri]]. Germany had issued warrants for 13 people suspected to be involved with the abduction, but dropped them in September, 2007.
On October 9, 2007, the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] declined without comment to hear an appeal of El-Masri's civil lawsuit against the United States, letting stand an earlier verdict by a federal district court judge, which was upheld by the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit]]. Those courts had agreed with the government that the case could not go forward without exposing [[state secrets]]. In May 2007, Masri was committed to a psychiatric institution after he was arrested in the southern German city of Neu-Ulm on suspicion of arson. His attorney blamed his troubles on the CIA, saying the kidnapping and detention had left Masri a "psychological wreck."<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/09/AR2007100900605_pf.html
|title=Court Declines Case of Alleged CIA Torture Victim
|first=Robert
|last=Barnes
|publisher=The Washington Post
|date=2007-10-09
|accessdate=2007-10-09}}</ref>
====Imam Rapito ====
{{Main|Imam Rapito affair}}
The Imam Rapito affair refers to the alleged abduction and transfer by the CIA to Egypt of the Imam of Milan, and alleged terrorist, [[Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr]], also known as Abu Omar, and tortured and abused. Hassan Nasr was released by Egyptian justice in February 2007, who considered his detention "unfounded," and has not been indicted for any alleged crime in Italy. Ultimately, twenty-six Americans and nine Italians have been indicted with a trial pending.
==Suspected black sites==
[[Image:ExtRenditionMap.gif|thumb|400px|right|<table width=100%><tr><td valign=top>
{{legend|#000000|The U.S. and suspected [[CIA]] "black sites"}}
{{legend|#3333FF|Extraordinary renditions allegedly have been carried out from these countries}}
{{legend|#9999FF|Detainees have allegedly been transported through these countries}}
{{legend|#FF0000|Detainees have allegedly arrived in these countries}}
''Sources:'' Amnesty International<ref name=AmnestyInternational060101> [http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engpol300032006 "Rendition" and secret detention: A global system of human rights violations], ''[[Amnesty International]]'', [[1 January]] [[2006]]</ref>, [[Human Rights Watch]], [[Black sites]] article on Wikipedia{{Fact|date=October 2007}}</tr></td></table>]]
===Asia===
In Thailand, the [[Voice of America]] [[microwave radio relay|relay station]] in [[Udon Thani]] was reported to be a ''black site''. Former Prime Minister [[Thaksin Shinawatra]] has denied these reports.<ref>{{cite news|title=Thaksin denies Thailand had 'CIA secret prison'|publisher=Bangkok Post|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=59604}}</ref>
===Middle East===
In Afghanistan, the prison at [[Bagram Air Base]] was initially housed in an abandoned brickmaking factory outside [[Kabul]] known as the "[[Salt Pit]]" <ref>{{cite news |title="The Salt Pit" CIA Interrogation Facility outsitde Kabul|publisher=GlobalSecurity.org|http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/afghanistan/saltpit.htm}}</ref>, but later moved to the base some time after a young Afghan died of hypothermia after being stripped naked and left chained to a floor. During this period, there were several incidents of [[Bagram torture and prisoner abuse|torture and prisoner abuse]], though they were related to non-secret prisoners, and not the CIA-operated portion of the prison. At some point prior to 2005, the prison was again relocated, this time to an unknown site. Metal containers at Bagram Air Base were reported to be ''black sites''.<ref>{{note label|post1|3|a}}{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |pages=A01 |title=U.S. Decries Abuse but Defends Interrogations 'Stress and Duress' Tactics Used on Terrorism Suspects Held in Secret Overseas Facilities |date=[[December 26]], [[2002]] |publisher=Washington Post
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A37943-2002Dec25?language=printer}}</ref> Some Guantanamo detainees report being [[torture]]d in a prison they called "[[the dark prison]]", also near Kabul.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/05bee6d5f916310a6f68909e2e67ecf7.htm |title="U.S. Operated Secret 'Dark Prison' in Kabul" |publisher=Reuters |date=[[December 19]] [[2005]]}}</ref> Also in Afghanistan, Jalalabad and Asadabad have been reported as suspected sites.<ref name=RisenShaker>{{cite news |first = James |last = Risen |authorlink = |coauthors =Shanker, Thom |title = Hussein Enters Post 9/11 Web of U.S. Prisons |url = |publisher = [[The New York Times]] |page = A1 |date= [[2003-12-18]] |accessdate = }}</ref>
In Iraq, [[Abu Ghraib]] was disclosed as also working as a ''black site'', and was the center of an extensive prisoner abuse scandal.<ref>{{cite news|first=Josh|last=White|pages=A16|title=Army, CIA Agreed on 'Ghost' Prisoners|date=[[March 11]], [[2005]] |publisher=Washington Post|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25239-2005Mar10.html}}</ref> Additionally, [[Camp Bucca]] (near [[Umm Qasr]]) and [[Camp Cropper]] (near the [[Baghdad International Airport]]) were reported.
The [[Israel]]i newspaper [[Haaretz]] reported [[Al Jafr prison]] in [[Jordan]] as a black site.<ref>{{cite news |title=Secret CIA centre in Jordan |date=[[October 13]], [[2004]] |publisher=News24 |url=http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1604532,00.html}}</ref>
Black sites have also been reported in [[Alizai]], [[Kohat]],<ref name=RisenShaker /> and [[Peshawar|Peshāwar]], Pakistan. The Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported in December 2001 that 275 prisoners, charged with illegally entering Pakistan, were interrogated by the FBI and CIA at Kohat prison, writing that while Pakistani Taliban were questioned by Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Arabs were "at the mercy of the FBI and CIA."<ref>[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001/566/war2.htm Al-Ahram Weekly | War | Lessons unlearned<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
===Africa===
{{Expand|date=January 2007}}
Some reported sites in [[Egypt]], [[Libya]], and [[Morocco]] <ref>{{cite news |first=Johan |last=Huizinga |title=Is Europe being used to hold CIA detainees? |date=[[November 25]], [[2005]] |publisher=Radio Netherlands |url=http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/currentaffairs/region/internationalorganisations/eur051125?view=Standard}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=CIA Prisons Moved To North Africa? |date=[[December 13]], [[2005]] |publisher=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/13/world/main1121577.shtml}}</ref>, as well as [[Djibouti]] <ref>{{cite news |author=Amnesty International |title=United States of America / Below the radar: Secret flights to torture and ‘disappearance’ |date=[[April 5]], [[2006]] |publisher=amnestyusa.org|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGUSA20060404001}}</ref> The al-Tamara interrogation centre, five miles outside the Moroccan capital, [[Rabat]], is cited as one such site.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jason Burke |title=Secret world of US jails |date=[[June 13]], [[2004]] |publisher=Observer|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,,1237652,00.html}}</ref>
===Indian Ocean===
The U.S. Naval Base in [[Diego Garcia]] was reported to be a black site, but UK and U.S. officials have denied these reports.<ref>{{cite news |author=Amnesty International |title=United States of America / Yemen: Secret Detention in CIA "Black Sites" |date=[[November 8]], [[2005]] |publisher=YubaNet.com |url=http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_27536.shtml}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/vo040621/text/40621w13.htm#40621w13.html_wqn9 | title=Developments in the British Indian Ocean Territory" | publisher=[[Hansard]] |date=2004-06-21 | accessdate=2006-06-01}}</ref>
===Europe===
Several European countries (particularly the former Soviet satellites and republics) have been accused of and denied hosting black sites: the [[Czech Republic]], [[Germany]], [[Hungary]], [[Poland]], [[Romania]], [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Latvia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Kazakhstan]]{{ref label|Financial|8|a}}. Slovak ministry spokesman [[Richard Fides]] said the country had no black sites, but its intelligence service spokesman [[Vladimir Simko]] said he would not disclose any information about possible Slovak black sites to the media.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} [[European Union|EU]] [[Justice commissioner]] [[Franco Frattini]] makes an unprecedented call for the suspension of voting rights for any member state found to have hosted a CIA black site.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}
The interior minister of [[Romania]], [[Vasile Blaga]], has assured the EU that the [[Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport|Mihail Kogălniceanu Airport]] was used only as a supply point for equipment, and never for detention, though there have been reports to the contrary. A fax intercepted by the [[Onyx (interception system)|Onyx Swiss interception system]], from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to its London embassy stated that 23 prisoners were clandestinely interrogated by the U.S. at the base.<ref>{{cite news | title=Swiss hunt leak on CIA prisons | publisher=The Chicago Tribune |date=[[January 12]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0601120196jan12,1,938136.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Swiss intercept fax on secret CIA jails |publisher=Vive le Canada |date=[[January 10]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20060110084310922}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Swiss paper claims proofs of secret US torture camp | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=[[January 12]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1546440.htm}}</ref> In 2007, it was disclosed by [[Dick Marty]] (investigator) that the CIA allegedly had secret prisons in Poland and Romania.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/08/poland.cia.ap/index.html
|title=Report: CIA had prisons in Poland
|publisher=[[CNN]]
|author=
|date=2007-06-08
}}</ref>
There are other reported sites in the [[Ukraine]]<ref name="Financial">{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=Dombey |title=CIA faces new secret jails claim|date=[[January 10]] [[2006]]|publisher=Financial Times|url=http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d874f262-817d-11da-8b55-0000779e2340.html}}</ref>, who denied hosting any such sites <ref>{{cite news |author=UPI |title=Ukraine denies hosting secret CIA prisons|date=[[March 13]] [[2006]]|publisher=United Press International|url=http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060313-125031-1031r}}</ref>, and the [[Republic of Macedonia]].{{ref label|Financial|8|c}}
===Mobile sites===
*U.S. warship [[USS Bataan (LHD-5)|USS ''Bataan'']]<ref>{{cite paper | author=Posner, Michael | title=Letter to Secretary Rumsfeld |date=2004 | url=http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/iraq/posner_let_dod_051304.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=John Walker Lindh Profile: The case of the Taliban American| work= CNN.com People in the News | url=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/walker/profile.html | accessdate=November 29 | accessyear=2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Myers: Intelligence might have thwarted attacks |date=[[January 9]], [[2002]] |publisher=CNN |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/01/08/ret.afghan.attacks/}}</ref>- By definition as a U.S. military vessel, this is not technically a "black site" as defined above. However, it has been used by the United States military as a temporary initial interrogation site (after which, prisoners are then transferred to other facilities, possibly including black sites).
:*[[Rendition aircraft|N221SG]] a [[Learjet 35]]
:*[[Rendition aircraft|N44982]] a [[Gulfstream V]]<ref>{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |pages=A01 |title=Jet Is an Open Secret in Terror War |date=[[December 27]], [[2004]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A27826-2004Dec26?language=printer}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Tim |title=CIA Torture Jet sold in attempted cover up |date=[[December 11]], [[2004]]|publisher=Melbourne Indymedia |url=http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2004/12/84411.php}}</ref> (also known as [[N379P]])
:*[[Rendition aircraft|N8068V]] a Gulfstream V
:*[[Rendition aircraft|N4476S]] a [[Boeing Business Jet]]<ref>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Grey |title=Details of US 'torture by proxy flights' emerge |date=[[November 14]], [[2004]] |publisher=Not In Our Name |url=http://www.notinourname.net/restrictions/torture-flights-14nov04.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Rosa |last=Brooks |title=Torture: It's the new American way |date=[[November 5]], [[2005]] |publisher=Los Angeles Times |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-brooks5nov05,0,2414917.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions}}</ref>
* On [[May 31]] [[2008]] ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that the human rights group Reprieve said up to seventeen US Naval vessels may have been used to covertly hold captives.<ref name=TheGuardian20080531a>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/usa.humanrights
| title=US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships
| publisher=[[The Guardian]]
| author=[[Duncan Campbell]], [[Richard Norton-Taylor]]
| date=[[June 2]] [[2008]]
| accessdate=2008-06-01
| quote=
}}</ref><ref name=TheGuardian20080531b>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/terrorism.terrorism
| title=Prison ships, torture claims, and missing detainees
| publisher=[[The Guardian]]
| author=[[Duncan Campbell]], [[Richard Norton-Taylor]]
| date=[[June 2]] [[2008]]
| accessdate=2008-06-01
| quote=
}}</ref> In addition to the the USS ''Bataan'' ''The Guardian'' named: [[USS Peleliu|USS ''Peleliu'']] and the [[USS Ashland|USS ''Ashland'']], [[USNS Stockham|USNS ''Stockham'']], [[USNS Watson|USNS ''Watson'']], [[USNS Watkins|USNS ''Watkins'']], [[USNS Sister|USNS ''Sister'']], [[USNS Charlton|USNS ''Charlton'']], [[USNS Pomeroy|USNS ''Pomeroy'']], [[USNS Red Cloud|USNS ''Red Cloud'']], [[USNS Soderman|USNS ''Soderman'']], and [[USNS Dahl|USNS ''Dahl'']]; [[MV PFC William B Baugh|MV ''PFC William B Baugh'']], [[MV Alex Bonnyman|MV ''Alex Bonnyman'']], [[MV Franklin J Phillips|MV ''Franklin J Phillips'']], [[MV Louis J Huage Jr|MV ''Louis J Huage Jr'']] and [[MV James Anderson Jr|MV ''James Anderson Jr'']]. The ''Ashland'' was stationed off the coast of [[Somalia]], in 2007, and, Reprieve expressed concern it had been used as a receiving ship for up to 100 captives taken in East Africa.
==Media and investigative history==
===Media===
====The Washington Post December 2002====
''The Washington Post'' on [[December 26]], [[2002]] reported about a secret CIA prison in one corner of [[Bagram Air Force Base]] (Afghanistan) consisting of metal shipping containers.{{ref label|post1|3|a}} On [[March 14]], [[2004]], ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that three British citizens were held captive in a secret section ([[Camp Echo]]) of the Guantánamo Bay complex.<ref>{{cite news |title=Revealed: the full story of the Guantanamo Britons The Observer's David Rose hears the Tipton Three give a harrowing account of their captivity in Cuba |date=[[March 14]], [[2004]] |publisher=The Guardian |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,13743,1169147,00.html}}</ref> Several other articles reported the retention of [[ghost detainee]]s by the CIA, alongside the other official "[[enemy combatant]]s". However, it was the revelations of the ''Washington Post'', in a [[November 2]], [[2005]] article, that would start the scandal. ([[#Washington Post November 2005 article|below]])<ref>{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |pages=A01 |title=CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons |date=[[November 2]], [[2005]] |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html}}</ref>
====Human Rights Watch March 2004 report====
{{further|Enduring Freedom - Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan}}
A report by the [[human rights]] organization [[Human Rights Watch]], entitled Enduring Freedom - Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan, states that the CIA has operated in Afghanistan since September, 2001<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/afghanistan0304/ “Enduring Freedom:” Abuses by U.S. Forces in Afghanistan (Human Rights Watch Report, March 2004)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>; maintaining a large facility in the Ariana Chowk neighborhood of [[Kabul]] and a detention and interrogation facility at the [[Bagram airbase]].
====Village March 2005 report ====
In the [[26 February]]-[[4 March]] [[2005]] edition of Ireland's ''[[Village (magazine)|Village]]'' magazine, an article titled "Abductions via Shannon" claimed that Dublin and Shannon airports in Ireland were "used by the CIA to abduct suspects in its 'war on terror'". The article went on to state that a [[Boeing 737]] (registration number N313P, later reregistered [[Rendition aircraft|N4476S]]) "was routed through Shannon and Dublin on fourteen occasions from [[1 January]] [[2003]] to the end of 2004. This is according to the flight log of the aircraft obtained from Washington DC by ''Village''. Destinations included [[Estonia]] (1/11/03); [[Larnaca]], [[Sale]], [[Kabul]], [[Palma]], [[Skopje]], [[Baghdad]], Kabul (all [[16 January]] [[2004]]);[[Marka]] ([[10 May]] [[2004]] and [[13 June]] [[2004]]). Other flights began in places such as [[Dubai]] ([[2 June]] [[2003]] and [[30 December]] [[2003]]), Mitiga ([[29 October]] [[2003]] and [[27 April]] [[2004]]), [[Baghdad]] (2003) and [[Marka]] ([[8 February]] [[2004]], [[4 March]] [[2004]], [[10 May]] [[2004]]), all of which ended in [[Washington DC]].
According to the article, the same aircraft landed in [[Guantanamo]] on [[September 23]] [[2003]] "having travelled from [[Kabul]] to [[Szczytno-Szymany International Airport|Szymany]] (Poland), [[Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport|Mihail Kogălniceanu]] (Romania) and [[Salé]] (Morocco)." It had been used "in connection with the abduction in [[Skopje]], Republic of Macedonia, of [[Khalid El-Masri]], a German citizen of Lebanese descent, on [[31 December]] [[2003]], and his transport to a US detention centre in Afghanistan on [[23 January]] [[2004]]."
In the article, it was noted that the aircraft's registration showed it as being owned by Premier Executive Transport Services, based in Massachusetts, though as of February 2005 it was listed as being owned by [[Keeler and Tate Management]], [[Reno, Nevada]] (US). On the day of registration transference, a Gulfstream V jet (number [[Rendition aircraft|N8068V]]) used in the same activities, was transferred from Premier Executive Transport Services to a company called [[Baynard Foreign Marketing]].
====Washington Post November 2005 article====
A story by reporter [[Dana Priest]] published in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' of [[November 2]] [[2005]], reported: "The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important alleged al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement."<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644_pf.html
| work=The Washington Post
| title=CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons
| author=Dana Priest
|date=2005-11-01
| accessdate=2007-04-15
}}</ref> According to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats, there is a network of foreign prisons that includes or has included sites in several European democracies, Thailand, Afghanistan, and a small portion of the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba - this network has been labeled by [[Amnesty International]] as "[[The Gulag Archipelago]]", in a clear reference to the novel of the same name by Russian writer and activist [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]].<ref name="ms">{{cite web
| url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13615446/page/6/
| work=MSNBC
| title=Transcript of interview of [[Andrea Mitchell]], [[Mitch McConnell]], [[Chuck Schumer]], [[Bill Bennett]], [[John Harwood]], [[Dana Priest]] and [[William Safire]]
|date=2006-06-02
| accessdate=2007-04-15
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Consequences of Covering Up |date=[[November 4]], [[2005]] |publisher=FAIR |url=http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2715}}</ref>
The reporting of the secret prisons was heavily criticized by members and former members of the Bush Administration. However, Dana Priest states no one in the administration requested that the Washington Post not print the story. Rather they asked they not publish the names of the countries in which the prisons are located.<ref name="ms"/> "The Post has not identified the East European countries involved in the secret program at the request of senior U.S. officials who argued that the disclosure could disrupt counter-terrorism efforts".<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110300422.html?nav=hcmodule
| work=The Washington Post
| title=U.S. Faces Scrutiny Over Secret Prisons
| author=[[Craig Whitlock]]
|date=2005-11-03
| accessdate=2007-04-15
}}</ref>
====Human Rights Watch's report ====
On [[November 3]] [[2005]], Tom Malinowski of the New York-based [[Human Rights Watch]] cited circumstantial evidence pointing to Poland and Romania hosting [[CIA]]-operated covert prisons. Flight records obtained by the group documented the [[Rendition aircraft|Boeing 737 'N4476S']] leased by the CIA for transporting prisoners leaving Kabul and making stops in Poland and Romania before continuing on to Morocco, and finally Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.<ref>{{cite news |title=Secret Prisons in Poland and Romania? |date=[[November 4]], [[2005]] |publisher=DW-World |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1765288,00.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Jan |last=Sliva |title=Nations Urged to Answer Prison Allegations |date=[[November 4]], [[2005]] |publisher=MagicValley.com |url=http://www.magicvalley.com/news_worldnation/?storyid=/dynamic/stories/C/CIA_SECRET_PRISONS}}</ref> Such flight patterns might corroborate the claims of government officials that prisoners are grouped into different classes being deposited in different locations. Malinowski's comments prompted quick denials by both Polish and Romanian government officials as well as sparking the concern of the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] ("ICRC"), who called for access to all foreign terrorism suspects held by the United States.
The accusation that several EU members may have allowed the United States to hold, imprison or torture detainees on their soil has been a subject of controversy in the European body, who announced in November 2005 that any country found to be complicit could lose their right to vote in the council.<ref>[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/11/28/1327488-ap.html CNews]</ref>
;Amnesty International November 2005 report
On [[November 8]], [[2005]], rights group [[Amnesty International]] provided the first comprehensive testimony from former inmates of the CIA black sites.<ref>United States of America / Yemen: Secret Detention in CIA "Black Sites", AI Index: AMR 51/177/2005</ref> The report, which documented the cases of three [[Yemen]]i nationals, was the first to describe the conditions in black site detention in detail. In a subsequent report, in April 2006, Amnesty International used flight records and other information to locate the black site in Eastern Europe or Central Asia.
====BBC December 2006 report====
On 28 December 2006, the BBC reported that during 2003, a well-known CIA Gulfstream aircraft implicated in extraordinary renditions, [[N379P]], had on several occasions landed at the Polish airbase of [[Szczytno-Szymany International Airport|Szymany]]. The airport manager reported that airport officials were told to keep away from the aircraft, which parked at the far end of the runway and frequently kept their engines running. Vans from a nearby intelligence base ([[Stare Kiejkuty (base)|Stare Kiejkuty]]) met the aircraft, stayed for a short while and then drove off. Landing fees were paid in cash, with the invoices made out to "probably fake" American companies. <ref>{{cite web
| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6212843.stm
| work=BBC
| title=Hunt for CIA 'black site' in Poland
| author=Nick Hawton
| accessdate=2007-08-01
}}</ref>
====New Yorker August 2007 article====
An August 13, 2007 story by [[Jane Mayer]] in [[The New Yorker]] reported that the CIA has operated "black site" secret prisons by the direct Presidential order of [[George W. Bush]] since shortly after 9/11, and that extreme psychological interrogation measures based at least partially on the Vietnam-era [[Phoenix Program]] were used on detainees. These included sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, keeping prisoners naked indefinitely and photographing them naked to degrade and humiliate them, and forcibly administering drugs by suppositories to further break down their dignity. According to Mayer's report, CIA officers have taken out professional liability insurance, fearing that they could be criminally prosecuted if what they have already done became public knowledge. <ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=1
| work=The New Yorker
| title=The Black Sites; A rare look inside the C.I.A.’s secret interrogation program
| author=Jane Mayer
|date=2007-08-13
| accessdate=2007-08-13
}}</ref>
====September 2007 media reports to present====
On September 14, 2007, [[The Washington Post]] reported that members of the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] had requested the withdrawal of the nomination of John Rizzo - a career CIA lawyer - for the position of [[general counsel]], due to concerns about his support for Bush administration legal doctrines permitting "enhanced interrogation" of terrorism detainees in CIA custody.
<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202353.html
| publisher=The Washington Post
| title=Senate Intelligence Panel Seeks CIA Nominee's Withdrawal
| author=Joby Warrick
|date=2007-09-14
| accessdate=2007-09-14}}</ref>
On October 4, 2007, [[The New York Times]] reported that despite a public legal opinion issued in December 2004 that declared torture "abhorrent," that shortly after [[Alberto Gonzales]] became [[Attorney General]] in February of 2005 that the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] issued another, secret opinion which for the first time provided CIA explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures. Gonzales reportedly approved the legal memorandum on “combined effects” over the objections of [[James B. Comey]], the outgoing deputy attorney general, who told colleagues at the Justice Department that they would all be “ashamed” when the world eventually learned of it. According to The Times report, the 2005 Justice Department opinions remain in effect, and their legal conclusions have been confirmed by several more recent memorandums.
<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/04interrogate.html?pagewanted=print
| publisher=The New York Times
| title=Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations
| author=Scott Shane, David Johnston and James Risen
|date=2007-10-04
| accessdate=2007-10-04}}</ref>
[[Patrick Leahy]] and [[John Conyers]], chairmen of the respective Senate and House Judiciary Committees, requested that the Justice Department turn over documents related to the secret February 2005 legal opinion to their committees for review.
<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/14cnd-interrogate.html?pagewanted=print
| publisher=The New York Times
| title=Congress Seeks Justice Dept. Documents on Interrogation
| author=David Johnston
|date=2007-10-04
| accessdate=2007-10-04}}</ref>
The chairman of the [[Senate Intelligence Committee]], [[John D. Rockefeller IV]], wrote to acting attorney general [[Peter D. Keisler]], asking for copies of all opinions on interrogation since 2004. "I find it unfathomable that the committee tasked with oversight of the C.I.A.’s detention and interrogation program would be provided more information by The New York Times than by the Department of Justice," Rockefeller's letter read in part.
<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/washington/05interrogate.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
| publisher=The New York Times
| title=Debate Erupts on Techniques used by C.I.A.
| author=David Johnston and Scott Shane
|date=2007-10-05
| accessdate=2007-10-05}}</ref>
On October 5, 2007, President [[George W. Bush]] responded, saying "This government does not torture people. You know, we stick to U.S. law and our international obligations." The President said that the interrogation techniques "have been fully disclosed to appropriate members of Congress."
<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/washington/05cnd-torture.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
| publisher=The New York Times
| title=Bush Defends Treatment of Terrorism Suspects
| author=David Johnston and Scott Shane
|date=2007-10-05
| accessdate=2007-10-05}}</ref>
On October 11, 2007, [[The New York Times]] reported that CIA director Gen. Michael V. Hayden had ordered an unusual internal inquiry into the work of the agency’s inspector general, John L. Helgerson, whose aggressive investigations of the CIA’s detention and interrogation programs and other matters have created resentment among agency operatives. The inquiry is reportedly being overseen by Robert L. Deitz, a lawyer who served as general counsel at the [[National Security Agency]] when General Hayden ran it, and also includes Michael Morrell, the agency’s associate deputy director.
A report by Helgerson’s office completed in the spring of 2004 warned that some CIA-approved interrogation procedures appeared to constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as defined by the international Convention Against Torture. Some of the inspector general’s work on detention issues was conducted by [[Mary O. McCarthy]], who was fired from the agency in 2006 after being accused of leaking classified information. Helgerson’s office is reportedly nearing completion on a number of inquiries into CIA detention, interrogation, and renditions.
<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/washington/12intel.html?pagewanted=print
|title=Watchdog of C.I.A. Is Subject of C.I.A. Inquiry
|author=Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane
|publisher=The New York Times
|date=2007-10-11}}</ref>
Members of the House and Senate intelligence committees expressed concern about the inquiry, saying that it could undermine the inspector general's role as independent watchdog. Senator [[Ron Wyden]] said he was sending a letter to [[John Michael McConnell|Mike McConnell]], the [[director of national intelligence]], asking him to instruct General Hayden to drop the inquiry.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/washington/12cnd-cia.html?pagewanted=print
|title=C.I.A. Internal Inquiry Troubling, Lawmakers Say
|author=Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane
|publisher=The New York Times
|date=2007-10-12}}</ref>
In an October 30, 2007 address to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, CIA Director General [[Michael Hayden]] defended the agency's interrogation methods, saying, "Our programs are as lawful as they are valuable." Asked a question about [[waterboarding]], Hayden mentioned attorney general nominee [[Michael Mukasey]], saying, "Judge Mukasey cannot nor can I answer your question in the abstract. I need to understand the totality of the circumstances in which this question is being posed before I can give you an answer."
<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPMxKLv8VMTyTbkVgGpLC53w3lQgD8SJTO280
|title=CIA Head Defends Interrogation Practices
|author=Sophia Tareen
|publisher=Associated Press
|date=2007-10-30
|accessdate=2007-10-31}}</ref>
On December 6, 2007, the CIA admitted that it had destroyed videotapes recordings of CIA interrogations of terrorism suspects involving harsh interrogation techniques, tapes which critics suggest may have documented the use of torture by the CIA, such as waterboarding. The tapes were made in 2002 as part of a secret detention and interrogation program, and were destroyed in November 2005. The reason cited for the destruction of the tapes was that the tapes posed a security risk for the interrogators shown on the tapes. Yet the department also stated that the tapes "had no more intelligence value and were not relevant to any inquiries".
<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0654798320071207
|title=CIA says it made and destroyed interrogation tapes
|first=Randall
|last=Mikkelsen
|publisher=Reuters
|date=2007-12-06
|accessdate=2007-12-06}}</ref>
In response, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., stated: "You'd have to burn every document at the CIA that has the identity of an agent on it under that theory." Other Democrats in Congress also made public statements of outrage about the destruction of the tapes, suggesting that a violation of law had occurred.
<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/06/national/w132617S54.DTL&tsp=1
|title=Democrats Want Probe of Tape Destruction
|first=Pamela
|last=Hess
|publisher=Associated Press
|date=2007-12-07
|accessdate=2007-12-07}}</ref>
===European investigations===
After a media and public outcry in Europe concerning headlines about "secret CIA prisons" in Poland and other US allies, the EU through its Committee on Legal Affairs investigated whether any of its members, especially Poland, the Czech Republic or Romania had any of these "secret CIA prisons." After an investigation by the EU Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, the EU determined that it could not find any of these prisons. In fact, they could not prove if they had ever existed at all. To quote the report, "At this stage of the investigations, there is no formal, irrefutable evidence of the existence of secret CIA detention centres in [[Romania]], [[Poland]] or any other country. Nevertheless, there are many indications from various sources which must be considered reliable, justifying the continuation of the analytical and investigative work."<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/CommitteeDocs/2006/20060124_Jdoc032006_E.htm
| work=Council of Europe
| title=Alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe member states
| author=Dick Marty
| pages=chapter E: Preliminary analysis of the information already obtained, part C: Secret detention centres
| accessdate=2007-04-15
}}</ref>
====Spain investigations ====
In November 2005, Spanish newspaper ''[[El Pais]]'' reported that CIA planes had landed in the Canary Islands and in Palma de Mallorca. An attorney opened up an investigation concerning these landings which, according to Madrid, were made without official knowledge, thus being a breach of [[national sovereignty]].<ref>{{cite news | title=''El Gobierno canario pide explicaciones sobre vuelos de la CIA en Tenerife'' |date= [[16 November]] [[2005]] | publisher=El Pais |url=http://www.elpais.es/articulo/elpepinac/20051116elpepinac_3/Tes/Canarias%20pide%20explicaciones%20sobre%20las%20escalas%20de%20vuelos%20de%20la%20CIA%20en%20Tenerife}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=''La Fiscalía de Canarias investigará las escalas de vuelos de la CIA en Tenerife y Gran Canaria'' |date=[[18 November]] [[2005]] | publisher=El Mundo | url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2005/11/18/espana/1132315880.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=''Un supuesto avión de la CIA aterriza en la base portuguesa de Azores'' |date=[[28 November]] [[2005]] | publisher=Canarias 7 | url=http://www.canarias7.es/articulo.cfm?Id=14607&dia=29/11/05}}</ref>
====France investigations ====
The prosecutor of [[Bobigny]] court, in France, opened up an investigation in order "to verify the presence in [[Le Bourget Airport]], on [[July 20]], [[2005]], of the plane numbered N50BH." This instruction was opened following a complaint deposed in December 2005 by the ''[[Ligue des droits de l'homme]]'' (LDH) NGO ("Human Rights League") and the ''[[International Federation of Human Rights Leagues]]'' (FIDH) NGO on charges of "arbitrary detention", "crime of torture" and "non-respect of the rights of [[war prisoners]]". It has as objective to determine if the plane was used to transport CIA prisoners to [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp]] and if the French authorities had knowledge of this stop. However, the lawyer defending the LDH declared that he was surprised that the judicial investigation was only opened on [[January 20]], [[2006]], and that no verifications had been done before.
On [[December 2]], [[2005]], conservative newspaper ''[[Le Figaro]]'' had revealed the existence of two CIA planes that had landed in France, suspected of transporting CIA prisoners. But the instruction concerned only N50BH, which was a [[Gulfstream III]], which would have landed at Le Bourget on [[July 20]] [[2005]], coming from [[Oslo]], [[Norway]]. The other suspected aircraft would have landed in [[Brest, France|Brest]] on [[March 31]], [[2002]]. It is investigated by the [[Canada|Canadian]] authorities, as it would have been flying from [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]] in Canada, via [[Keflavík]] in [[Iceland]] before going to [[Turkey]] <ref> {{fr icon}}{{cite news | title=La France enquête sur les avions de la CIA | publisher=Le Figaro |date=[[February 2]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/france/20060302.FIG000000200_la_france_enquete_sur_les_avions_de_la_cia.html}} </ref>.
==== Portugal investigations ====
Portugal opened an investigation concerning CIA flights in February 2007, on the basis of declarations by [[Socialist Party (Portugal)|Socialist]] [[MEP]] [[Ana Gomes]] and by [[Rui Costa Pinto]], a journalist for the ''[[Visão]]'' review. The Portuguese general prosecutor, [[Cândida Almeida]], head of the [[Central Investigation and Penal Action Department]] ("DCIAP"), announced the opening of investigations on February 5, 2007. They center on the issue of "torture or inhuman and cruel treatment," and are instigated by allegations of "illegal activities and serious human rights violations" made by MEP Ana Gomes to the attorney general, Pinto Monteiro, on January 26, 2007 <ref name="StateFeb07"> "Portugal: Renditions: Judicial investigation into CIA flights begins", [[Statewatch]] News Online, February 5-6, 2007 ([http://www.statewatch.org/news/2007/feb/03cia-portugal.htm available here]) {{en icon}} </ref>.
Ana Gomes was highly critical of the Portuguese government's reluctance to comply with the European Parliament Commission investigation into the CIA flights, leading to tensions with Foreign Minister [[Luís Amado]], a member of the [[Socialist Party (Portugal)|her party]]. She declared that she had no doubt that permission of these illegal flights were frequent during [[Durão Barroso]] (2002-2004) and [[Santana Lopes]] (2004-2005)' governments, and that "during the [Socialist] government of [[José Sócrates]] [2005-], 24 flights which passed through Portuguese territory" are registered <ref>[http://www.europapress.es/noticia.aspx?cod=20070205202548&ch=69 Portugal/CIA.- La Fiscalía General abre una investigación sobre los supuestos vuelos ilegales de la CIA en Portugal], ''[[Europa Press]]'', February 5, 2007 {{es icon}} </ref>. She has declared herself satisfied with the opening of the investigations, but underlined that she had always claimed that a parliamentary inquiry would be necessary <ref name="StateFeb07"/>.
Journalist Rui Costa Pinto was heard by the "DCIAP" after having written an article, refused by ''Visão'', about flights passing through [[Lajes Field]] in the [[Azores]], a Portuguese airbase used by the US Air Force<ref name="StateFeb07">.
Approximatively 150 "CIA" flights which have flown through Portugal have been identified. <ref> Details about "CIA" flights requested to Portuguese government by MEP [[Ana Gomes]]. See "Portugal: Evidence of illegal ""CIA rendition flights surfacing", [[Statewatch]], October 2006 [http://www.statewatch.org/news/2006/oct/04portugal-cia-gomes.htm available here (including documents)] {{en icon}} </ref>.
====Other European investigations====
[[Image:Comint-switzerland.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Report regarding the Egyptian fax intercepted on [[10 November]] [[2005]] by the Swiss Onyx interception system, as published in the Swiss press.]]
The [[European Union]] (EU) as well as the [[Council of Europe]] pledged to investigate the allegations. On [[November 25]] [[2005]], the lead investigator for the Council of Europe, Swiss lawmaker [[Dick Marty]] announced that he had obtained latitude and longitude coordinates for suspected black sites, and he was planning to use satellite imagery over the last several years as part of his investigation. On [[November 28]], [[2005]], EU Justice Commissioner [[Franco Frattini]] asserted that any EU country which had operated a secret prison would have its voting rights suspended.<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Ames |title=EU May Suspend Nations With Secret Prisons |date=[[November 28]], [[2005]] |publisher=[[ABC News]] |url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1352347}}</ref> On [[13 December]] [[2005]] [[Dick Marty]], investigating illegal CIA activity in Europe on behalf of the [[Council of Europe]] in Strasbourg, reported evidence that "individuals had been abducted and transferred to other countries without respect for any legal standards". His investigation has found that no evidence exists establishing the existence of secret CIA prisons in Europe, but added that it was "highly unlikely" that European governments were unaware of the American program of renditions. However, Marty's interim report, which was based largely on a compendium of press clippings has been harshly criticised by the governments of various EU member states.<ref name="move">{{cite web
| url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/13/world/main1121577.shtml?cmp=EM8706
| work=CBS News
| title=CIA Prisons Moved To North Africa?
| author=[[Associated Press]]
|date=2005-12-13
| accessdate=2007-05-23
}}</ref> The preliminary report declared that it was "highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware" of the CIA kidnapping of a "hundred" persons on European territory and their subsequent [[extraordinary rendition|rendition]] to countries where they may be tortured <ref name="Marty"> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/24_01_06_detention.pdf Information memorandum II on the alleged secret detentions in Council of Europe state, rapported by Dick Marty, [[January 22]] [[2006]]]</ref>.
On [[April 21]] [[2006]] the [[New York Times]] reported that European investigators said they had not been able to find conclusive evidence of the existence of European black sites.<ref name=Nytimes060421>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/21/world/europe/21rendition.html?ei=5088&en=039e40b5d7cbfc67&ex=1303272000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print No Proof of Secret C.I.A. Prisons, European Antiterror Chief Says], ''[[New York Times]]'', [[April 21]] [[2006]]</ref>
On 27 June 2007, the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] voted on Resolution 1562 and Recommendation 1801 backing the conclusions of the report by Dick Marty. The Assembly declared that it was established with a high degree of probability that secret detention centres had been operated by the CIA under the High Value Detainee (HVD) program for some years in Poland and Romania.<ref name="move"/>
====The Onyx-intercepted fax====
In its edition of [[January 8]], [[2006]], the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] newspaper ''[[Blick|Sonntagsblick]]'' published a document intercepted on [[November 10]] by the Swiss [[Onyx (interception system)|Onyx interception system]] (similar to the [[UKUSA]]'s [[ECHELON]] system). Purportedly sent by the Egyptian embassy in London to foreign minister [[Ahmed Aboul Gheit]], the document states that 23 Iraqi and Afghan citizens were interrogated at Mihail Kogălniceanu base near [[Constanţa]], Romania. According to the same document, similar interrogation centers exist in Bulgaria, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, and Ukraine <ref name="Financial">{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=Dombey |title=CIA faces new secret jails claim|date=[[January 10]] [[2006]]|publisher=Financial Times|url=http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d874f262-817d-11da-8b55-0000779e2340.html}}</ref>.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry later explained that the intercepted fax was merely a review of the Romanian press done by the Egyptian Embassy in Bucharest. It probably referred to a statement by controversial Senator and Great Romania party leader [[Corneliu Vadim Tudor]].<ref>Axis Information and Analysis. [http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=501 Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review], [[28 November]] [[2005]].</ref>
The Swiss government did not officially confirm the existence of the report, but started a judiciary procedure for leakage of secret documents against the newspaper on 9 January 2006.
====The European Parliament's February 14, 2007 report====
The [[European Parliament]]'s report, adopted by a large majority (382 [[MEP]]s voting in favour, 256 against and 74 abstaining) passed on February 14, 2007 concludes that many European countries tolerated illegal actions of the [[CIA]] including secret flights over their territories. The countries named were: [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Cyprus]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Spain]], [[Sweden]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. <ref name="Bbc070214"> {{cite news | title=EU endorses damning report on CIA | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6360817.stm | accessdate=2007-02-14 | publisher=[[BBC]] | date=[[February 14]] [[2007]] }}</ref> The report...
<blockquote>"''denounces the lack of co-operation of many member states and of the [[Council of the European Union]] with the investigation," "Regrets that European countries have been relinquishing control over their airspace and airports by turning a blind eye or admitting flights operated by the CIA which, on some occasions, were being used for illegal transportation of detainees; Calls for the closure of [the US military detention mission in] Guantanamo and for European countries immediately to seek the return of their citizens and residents who are being held illegally by the US authorities; Considers that all European countries should initiate independent investigations into all stopovers by civilian aircraft [hired by] the CIA; Urges that a ban or system of inspections be introduced for all CIA-operated aircraft known to have been involved in extraordinary rendition.''" <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6361829.stm EU rendition report: Key excerpts], on the BBC News website</ref><ref>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/comparl/tempcom/tdip/pe382246.pdf The report itself], on the [[European Parliament]] website</ref> </blockquote>
The report criticized a number of European countries (including Austria, Italy, Poland, Portugal and the UK) for their "unwillingness to co-operate" with investigators.and the action of [[secret services]] for lack of cooperation with the Parliaments' investigators and acceptal of the illegal abductions. The European Parliament voted a resolution condemning member states which accepted or ignore the practice. According to the report, the CIA had operated 1,245 flights, many of them to destinations where suspects could face torture. The Parliament also called for the creation of an independent investigation commission and the closure of Guantanamo camp. According to Italian Socialist [[Giovanni Fava]], who drafted the document, there was a "strong possibility" that the intelligence obtained under the extraordinary rendition illegal program had been passed on to EU governments who were aware of how it was obtained. The report also uncovered the use of secret detention facilities used in Europe, including Romania and Poland. The report defines extraordinary renditions as instances where "an individual suspected of involvement in terrorism is illegally abducted, arrested and/or transferred into the custody of US officials and/or transported to another country for interrogation which, in the majority of cases involves incommunicado detention and torture".
==United Nations response==
On May 19, 2006, the [[United Nations]] Committee Against Torture (the U.N. body that monitors compliance with the [[United Nations Convention Against Torture]], the world's anti-torture treaty) recommended that the United States cease holding detainees in secret prisons and stop the practice of rendering prisoners to countries where they are likely to be tortured. The decision was made in [[Geneva]] following two days of hearings at which a 26-member U.S. delegation defended the practices.<ref>William Fisher, [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0520-01.htm US Groups Hail Censure of Washington's "Terror War], [[Inter Press Service]] on [[May 20]], [[2006]]</ref> [http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/AdvanceVersions/CAT.C.USA.CO.2.pdf PDF file of report]
==See also==
*[[:Category:Black sites]]
*[[Torture chamber]]
*[[Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States]]
*[[Enemy combatant]]
*[[Erroneous rendition]]
*[[Extraordinary rendition]]
*[[Forced disappearance]]
*[[Geneva Conventions]]
*[[Ghost detainee]]
*[[Jeff Rense]]
*[[Political prisoner]]
*[[Prisoner of war]]
*[[Rendition aircraft]]
*[[Rendition (law)|Rendition]]
*[[The Gulag Archipelago]]
*[[United Nations Convention Against Torture]]
*[[Camp 1391]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*{{cite news |title=CIA Interrogation Centre "The Salt Pit" |publisher=Altopix |url=http://explorer.altopix.com/map/x4ha1r/CIA_Interrogation_Centre_The_Salt_Pit.htm}}
*{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |pages=A01 |title=Secret World of U.S. Interrogation Long History of Tactics in Overseas Prisons Is Coming to Light |date=[[May 11]] [[2004]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15981-2004May10?language=printer}}
*{{cite news |first=Seymour M. |last=Hersh |title=The Gray Zone - How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib |date=[[May 24]] [[2005]] |publisher=The New Yorker |url=http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040524fa_fact}}
*{{cite news |title=U.S. Holding Prisoners in More Than Two Dozen Secret Detention Facilities Worldwide, New Report Says |date=[[June 17]] [[2004]] |publisher=Human Rights First |url=http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/2004_alerts/0617.htm}}
*{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |title=At Guantanamo, a Prison Within a Prison CIA Has Run a Secret Facility for Some Al Qaeda Detainees, Officials Say |date=[[December 16]] [[2004]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5918-2004Dec16.html}}
*{{cite news |title=CIA Avoids Scrutiny of Detainee Treatment Afghan's Death Took Two Years to Come to Light; Agency Says Abuse Claims Are Probed Fully |date=[[March 2]] [[2005]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2576-2005Mar2.html}}
*{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |title=CIA Avoids Scrutiny of Detainee Treatment Afghan's Death Took Two Years to Come to Light; Agency Says Abuse Claims Are Probed Fully |date=[[March 3]] [[2005]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://gnn.tv/headlines/1291/CIA_Avoids_Scrutiny_of_Detainee_Treatment}}
*{{cite news |title=Terror Interrogations Held in Old Soviet Facility |date=[[November 2]] [[2005]] |publisher=Fox News |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,174338,00.html}}
*{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |title=Secret prison system detains high-level terrorism suspects |date=[[November 2]] [[2005]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002598646_detain02.html}}
*{{cite news |title=CIA 'running secret terror jails' |date=[[November 2]] [[2005]] |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4400728.stm}}
*{{cite news |title=CIA 'has secret terror jails' |date=[[November 2]] [[2005]] |publisher=Aljazeera |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9E6F94FB-130A-49A5-A556-5174AFCA1629.htm}}
*{{cite news |first=Dana |last=Priest |title=Policies on Terrorism Suspects Come Under Fire: Democrats Say CIA's Covert Prisons Hurt U.S. Image; U.N. Official on Torture to Conduct Inquiry |date=[[November 3]] [[2005]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/02/AR2005110202988.html?nav=hcmodule}}
*{{cite news |title=Thailand denies being interrogation site |date=[[November 3]] [[2005]] |publisher=The Age |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Thailand-denies-being-interrogation-site/2005/11/03/1130823333738.html}}
*{{cite news |title=Get out of the torture business - Mistreating detainees is unAmerican and puts our own soldiers at risk |date=[[February 10]] [[2005]] |publisher=Oregon Live |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1130981107165890.xml&coll=7}}
*{{cite news |first=Eugene |last=Robinson |pages=A23 |title=Out of a Bad Spy Novel |date=[[November 4]] [[2005]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110301732.html}}
*{{cite news |title=‘Black site’ prisons invite unchecked abuse |date=[[November 3]] [[2005]] |publisher=News Tribune |url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/5303355p-4808433c.html}}
*{{cite news |first=Jan |last=Silva |title=Nations urged to answer prison allegations |date=[[November 4]] [[2005]] |publisher=Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/04/AR2005110400502.html}}
*{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Brookes |title=CIA 'black sites': A black eye for U.S. |date=[[November 9]] [[2005]] |publisher=Philadelphia Inquirer |url=http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13116843.htm}}
*{{cite news |title=Frist concerned more about leaks than secret prisons |date=[[November 10]] [[2005]] |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/10/frist.secretprisons.ap/index.html}}
*{{cite news |url=http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,387185,00.html |title=The Hunt for Hercules N8183J |publisher=Der Spiegel |date=[[November 28]], [[2005]]}}
*{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2036185,00.html |title=Revealed: the terror prison US is helping build in Morocco |publisher=The Sunday Times |date=[[February 12]], [[2006]]}}
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5054426.stm Europe 'aided US in CIA flights'], BBC News, [[June 7]] [[2006]]
*[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/017-12376-310-11-45-902-20061106IPR12370-06-11-2006-2006-false/default_en.htm CIA allegations: MEPs regret Polish authorities’ unwillingness to engage]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6359875.stm EU to vote on CIA flights report], BBC News, [[February 14]] [[2007]]
{{HighValue}}
[[Category:Black sites| ]]
[[Category:Central Intelligence Agency]]
[[Category:Civil rights abuses]]
[[Category:Central Intelligence Agency operations]]
[[Category:Counter-terrorism]]
[[Category:Locations in the history of espionage| Black sites]]
[[Category:Detention centres for extrajudicial prisoners of the United States]]
[[Category:George W. Bush administration controversies]]
[[Category:Human rights abuses]]
[[Category:Imprisonment and detention]]
[[Category:Prisons]]
[[Category:National security]]
[[Category:Anti-terrorism policy of the United States]]
[[Category:Extraordinary rendition program]]
[[cy:Safle du]]
[[de:Black site]]
[[fr:Centres de détention clandestins de la CIA]]
[[la:Carceres secreti CIA]]
[[nl:CIA-gevangenissysteem]]
[[pl:Sprawa tajnych więzień CIA w Europie]]
[[pt:Prisões secretas da CIA]]
[[ru:Секретные тюрьмы ЦРУ]]