Council Of Europe Confirms Larisa Alexandrovna's Report ID'ing Secret CIA Black Site In Poland

[Hissyspit]

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Council_of_Europe_confirms_Raw_Story_0608.html

Council of Europe confirms Raw Story report identifying secret CIA 'black site' in Poland
John Byrne
Published: Friday June 8, 2007

Confirmation of two prisons suggests possibility of facilities in other countries

A new report by the Council of Europe leaked Thursday to the Guardian and the New York Times confirms a March, 2007 RAW STORY report identifying a secret Central Intelligence Agency detention facility at Stare Kjekuty in northeastern Poland.

The Council's report (pdf), released today, confirms authoritatively that secret "black sites" existed in both Romania and Poland. It identifies the location of the Polish facility as being in Stare Kjekuty, the location identified by RAW STORY.

No credit was given to Alexandrovna or Dastych in any of the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press or Guardian reports, though RAW STORY provided each of the four news organizations with the report directly to reporters at each outlet.

"There is now enough evidence to state that secret detention facilities run by the CIA did exist in Europe from 2003 to 2005, in particular in Poland and Romania," the Council's report says. "The secret detention facilities in Europe were run directly and exclusively by the CIA," the report continues. "While it is likely that very few people in the countries concerned, including in the governments themselves, knew of the existence of the centers, we have sufficient grounds to declare that the highest state authorities were aware of the CIAs illegal activities on their territories."

Excerpts of the report can be read here. (CLICK LINK ABOVE) The network of CIA prisons in Eastern Europe was first identified by Dana Priest in the Washington Post.

MORE

[helderheid]

1. forgot your more link - k & r!!

[Hissyspit]

3. It's at the top of the post. n/t

[helderheid]

9. oh.. duh.. sorry!

[blm]

2. Big NODS to lala.

Thankyou for your professionalism.

[myrna minx]

4. Thank you lala for your tireless work. n/t

[Hissyspit]

5. "Massive and Systemic Violation of Human Rights"

From Think Progress:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/08/%e2%80%98massive-and-systemic-violations%e2%80%99-of-human-rights

Massive and systemic violations’ of human rights. A Council of Europe investigator says that he has “enough evidence to state” that the CIA operated secret prisons in Poland and Romania. Der Spiegel obtained a copy of the report:

The illegal deportation of suspects by CIA kidnapping teams in Europe amounts to a “massive and systematic violation of human rights,” the report says.

Marty, who conducted the investigation on behalf of the Council of Europe, accuses the CIA of having committing a number of transgressions: “We believe we have shown that the CIA committed a whole series of illegal acts in Europe by abducting individuals, detaining them in secret locations and subjecting them to interrogation techniques tantamount to torture.”

[L. Coyote]

6. NAZIS: Stare Kiejkuty, a Soviet-era compound once used by German intelligence in World War II

European Report Addresses CIA Sites - Prisons in Poland, Romania, It Says
By Molly Moore and Julie Tate - Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, June 8, 2007; Page A16
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060702425.html


PARIS, June 7 -- A European investigator said he has "factually established" that Poland and Romania allowed the CIA to operate secret prisons where alleged al-Qaeda operatives were detained and interrogated, according to documents scheduled to be presented Friday to Europe's official human rights organization.

Dick Marty, a Swiss lawyer for the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights agency, said detainees who were considered "especially sensitive" were incarcerated in Poland and those believed "to be less important were held in Romania," the documents said.

The documents, which were obtained by The Washington Post, include the cover letter and explanatory note of a report Marty has drafted, as well as a related draft resolution to be proposed to the council. Those documents did not provide details of the evidence Marty used to verify the participation of Poland and Romania in the covert CIA program.

Those two countries have repeatedly denied hosting CIA prisons. Marty said the two countries' government agencies did not cooperate with his investigation.

The report -- part of a larger investigation into partnerships among the CIA, NATO and European nations in the capture, transfer and detention of suspected terrorists -- reflects European outrage over the secret operations.

"Large numbers of people have been abducted from various locations across the world and transferred to countries where they have been persecuted and where it is known that torture is a common practice," Marty wrote, adding, "The fight against terrorism must not serve as an excuse for systematic recourse to illegal acts, massive violation of fundamental human rights and contempt for the rule of law." ..................

===================================
Dick Marty = He chairs the legal affairs and human rights committee

Profile: Dick Marty
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4526418.stm

Dick Marty has risen to prominence because of the CIA probe

The Swiss politician leading a European probe into allegations that the CIA abducted and moved terror suspects across European borders is a veteran legislator with years of experience in international law and human rights.

A married father of three and a lawyer by trade, Dick Marty holds a doctorate in law, and began his career as a specialist on Swiss law.

He lived in Freiburg, Germany, from 1969 until 1975, based at the section on Swiss law at an academic institution in the city.

He returned to Switzerland in 1975, taking up a position as state prosecutor in the canton of Ticino, ....

in 1998, he was elected to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, where he sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Within the council, Mr Marty serves on a number of influential committees.

He chairs the legal affairs and human rights committee and serves on the political affairs committee, among a host of others.

The Council of Europe has a wide membership not restricted to European Union members, and is responsible for overseeing the European Court of Human Rights. ..........

=============================
Rawstory in March

Soviet-era compound in northern Poland was site of secret CIA interrogation, detentions
Larisa Alexandrovna and David Dastych
Published: Wednesday March 7, 2007
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Sovietera_compound_in_Poland_was_site_0307.html

US, Britain asked Poland to join clandestine program

POLAND -- The CIA operated an interrogation and short-term detention facility for suspected terrorists within a Polish intelligence training school with the explicit approval of British and US authorities, according to British and Polish intelligence officials familiar with the arrangements.

Intelligence officials identify the site as a component of a Polish intelligence training school outside the northern Polish village of Stare Kiejkuty. While previously suspected, the facility has never been conclusively identified as being part of the CIA's secret rendition and detention program.

Only the Polish prime minister and top Polish intelligence brass were told of the plan, in which agents of the United States quietly shuttled detainees from other holding facilities around the globe for stopovers and short-term interrogation in Poland between late 2002 and 2004.

According to a confidential British intelligence memo shown to RAW STORY, Prime Minister Tony Blair told Poland's then-Prime Minister Leszek Miller to keep the information secret, even from his own government.

“Miller was asked to keep it as tight as possible,” the memo said.

The complex at Stare Kiejkuty, a Soviet-era compound once used by German intelligence in World War II, is best known as having been the only Russian intelligence training school to operate outside the Soviet Union.

[slay]

7. You rock Larisa - as does Raw Story!

Thanks for all your hard work - it's paid off, even if the bastids won't give ya the credit you deserve. :yourock:

[cgrindley]

8. The CIA needs to be permanently disbanded

it is an evil, terrorist organization. I think that when Bush gets to Italy, someone should arrest him. Every day and in every way, it becomes clearer and clearer that he is the very worst president in history, and is now gradually climbing the ladder of the world's worst. He has caused at least as much misery as Mugabe or Amin or Ceausescu or Tito. He's no Stalin or Mao, but he is going up in the ranks.

[Hissyspit]

10. .

[Hissyspit]

11. Larissa's blog about the story:

http://www.atlargely.com/2007/06/dont_forget_pol.html#more

Don't forget Poland...
Remember the article I did - along with former Polish intelligence agent/CIA double, David Dastych on a Polish facility being used as a temporary "ghost" detention holding area? Here is a small recap:

"POLAND -- The CIA operated an interrogation and short-term detention facility for suspected terrorists within a Polish intelligence training school with the explicit approval of British and US authorities, according to British and Polish intelligence officials familiar with the arrangements.

- snip -

Although suspicions about the secret CIA prisons have existed for more than a year, the council's report, which has been seen by the Guardian, appears to offer the first concrete evidence. It also details the prisons' operations and the identities of some of the prisoners."

Not quite, I reported the "concrete proof" well before this article by the Guaridan. But I do appreciate their efforts on this story. It is important and needs to be kept in the spotlight.

Posted by Larisa Alexandrovna at 07:19 PM in CIA, Covert Criminality, Detention, Dick Cheney, Excellent Reporting, Habeas Corpus, Human Rights, On the Beat of It | Permalink
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Comments

Prof: Yes, I know you had blogged about what came off the international wires. The problem was that there was no confirmation of it... even the investigators said they could not say one way or another for sure. My article was able to confirm that through my own sources and those of Mr. Dastych's. We were able to obtain documentation, we were able to identify why the facility at Stare Kiejkuty could not be confirmed - short-term black sites - and we were able to provide that information in more detail to the NGOs for them to further investigate and put pressure on the governments.

When the article broke, Miller went all over Polish TV smearing me because he knew how damning it was - think of it, how often does an intel agent byline with a reporter? Anyway, I am by no means saying this was not suspected or written about. But in terms of conducting an investigation, we were able to confirm without a doubt that the facility was used to detain and likely torture via a short term process, moving the detainees to another short term facility in Romania and other nations when the locals became too curious. We even knew when Blair and Miller put this agreement (on behalf of the US) into motion... so two very different issues and of course you deserve credit for writing about this:)

[helderheid]

13. thanks!

[loudsue]

15. These mainstream papers should be required to reference the Raw Story

work. That just SUCKS!! Is it even LEGAL??

:kick:

[L. Coyote]

19. Mil Gracis. Recommended read.

[helderheid]

12. Check it!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6733353.stm

http://news.google.com/?ncl=1117076935&hl=en

Front page on my Google news!

[truedelphi]

14. Once again, high Kudos to Raw Story n/t

[Kurovski]

16. Damn, you're good at this larisa.

K&R.

[L. Coyote]

17. K&R to STOP torture everywhere

[lala_rawraw]

18. thanks!!!

Thanks so much for posting this. I am sorry to have only seen this just now. I have been in bed for a few days. Have been feeling a bit run down... thank you again so much for your support.