'No Incontrovertible' Proof Of CIA Prisons In Europe, Probe Finds
January 24, 2006
Dick Marty (left) unveils his report into alleged secret CIA detention centers in Europe (official site)
"No cogent evidence has yet emerged on the existence in Europe of detention camps like the one at Guantanamo Bay," Swiss senator Dick Marty told the Council of Europe, referring to the controversial U.S. military detention center in Cuba.
But Marty, whose inquiry lasted three months, said further investigations should be carried out.
His report found there was "a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing of torture'" by the United States.
Marty said it was "highly unlikely" that European governments were unaware of the abduction and transfer of prisoners through Europe.
The Council of Europe launched its investigation after allegations surfaced in November that U.S. agents interrogated Al-Qaeda suspects at clandestine prisons in Eastern Europe.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch identified Romania and Poland as possible sites of secret U.S.-run detention facilities. Both countries have denied involvement. The existence of clandestine detention centers would violate European human rights treaties.
(dpa, AP, AFP, Reuters)