Macedonia faces tough questions on CIA prisoner

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http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Macedonia_faces_tough_questions_on_CIA_prisoner.html?siteSect=143&sid=6665630&cKey=1146154092000

BERLIN (Reuters) - Aspiring EU member Macedonia faced pressure on Thursday to explain its role in the alleged CIA abduction of a German man as a European Parliament team flew in for a three-day investigation mission.

German Khaled el-Masri was detained in Macedonia on December 31, 2003. From there he says he was flown by the Central Intelligence Agency to Afghanistan and jailed for months as a terrorist suspect before being released and dumped without explanation in Albania.

His case is among the best known examples of U.S. "extraordinary rendition" -- the practice of secretly transferring terrorist suspects to third countries where, human rights groups say, they may face abuse or torture.

Masri's lawyer Manfred Gnjidic, in a telephone interview with Reuters, urged Macedonia to disclose whether or not it told German or European Union authorities it was holding Masri.