European states partners in crime in US rendition: AI

The London-based human rights organisation urged the European Union to commit to ending renditions -- the extra-judicial transfer of a suspect to US jurisdiction -- on the continent at the 25-member bloc's summit in Brussels which kicks off today.

Amnesty said Britain, Germany, Italy, Sweden and non-EU members Turkey, Macedonia and Bosnia-Hercegovina were all implicated in six rendition cases detailed in its report, "Partners in Crime: Europe's Role in US Renditions".

Such countries were accused of adopting a "see no evil, hear no evil" approach to rendition flights set up by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

"Europe often presents itself as a beacon for human rights," said Claudio Cordone, Amnesty's senior director for research.

"The uncomfortable truth is that without Europe's help, some men would not now be nursing torture wounds in prison cells in various parts of the world.

"European states should end their 'see no evil, hear no evil' approach to rendition flights and instead take active steps to end the practice in their territories.

"European states must not hide their complicity in US renditions behind the cloak of their intelligence agencies. Some states have even handed people over to the CIA and thus bear responsibility for the subsequent torture and other abuses suffered by those people."

A report last week by the continent's human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, said 14 European countries colluded in or tolerated the secret transfer of terrorist suspects by the United States.

Amnesty said that under international law, states that facilitate transfers to countries where they know or should know that there is a risk of serious human rights abuses are complicit in these abuses and individuals complicit in abductions, torture or "disappearances" should be held criminally responsible.

The organisation said the US rendition programme highlighted that US secret services can operate covertly in Europe outside the rule of law and without accountability.

"The EU should ensure the development of a regulatory framework governing the activities of national and foreign intelligence agencies," Amnesty said.

In the six cases they detailed, men were allegedly bundled onto planes and transferred to detention sites where they they were all tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

The charges levelled at the states implicated included allowing airports and airspace on their territory to be used, participating in the arrest or abduction of people and handing them over to US authorities.

Such actions contravened their obligations under international law, Amnesty said.

It cited the case of Bisher Al-Rawi, 38, and Jamil El-Banna, 44, who were arrested after flying from Britain to Gambia in November 2002, according to the report.

Amnesty said they were handed over to American security officers and transferred to the Guantanamo Bay US naval base in Cuba via a US airbase in Bagram, Afghanistan.

The report claimed that their travel arrangements were passed on to the United States and as a result Britain was "instrumental" in their detention.

Both men continue to be held at Guantanamo, Amnesty said.

"Persistent denials from European states of their involvement in renditions and the lack of any meaningful response from the EU apart from the parliament, pose a serious problem -- not only for the credibility of the EU, but ultimately for the effectiveness of the counter-terrorist effort itself," said Dick Oosting, director of Amnesty's EU office.

Amnesty also urged the Council of Europe to continue its work towards uncovering the practice of rendition by setting up a commission of inquiry and working to ensure that any shortcomings in legislation are addressed regionally and by states individually.