Storm in Europe over CIA's airport use for prisoner transfer

The Socialist government of Spain, one of the countries whose airports were allegedly used for the transit of suspects, said Friday it was promising "maximum transparency" on the affair, having already twice asked the US government for clarification with its own domestic credibility at stake.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has, since coming to power last year, positioned himself as a champion of international legality and was quick to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq sent in by his conservative predecessor, despite the move souring relations with Washington.

The Spanish leader will face questioning in parliament over the flights issue on Wednesday.

Spanish judicial authorities are investigating reports that up to 10 flights operated by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) landed in the Balearic Islands between January 2004 and 2005 while media reports say a similar number landed between January and October of this year in the Canary Islands.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International on Friday demanded that the European Union investigate whether the United States has run illegal prison camps in Poland.

Referring to reports of camps in Poland, Irene Khan, Amnesty's secretary-general, said: "We should not be sitting here trying to speculate whether it is Poland and whether the Polish government will do something about it.