Press release
EN Press Service
Directorate for the Media
Director - Spokesperson : Jaume DUCH GUILLOT
Reference No:20150206IPR21212
Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000
Parliament to resume investigations into CIA- led operations in EU countries
Plenary sessions [11-02-2015 - 12:48]
Parliament's civil liberties, foreign affairs and human rights committees will resume
investigations into the CIA's alleged transportation and illegal detention of
prisoners in EU countries, in the light of the US Senate's new revelations of the use
of torture by the CIA, says a resolution passed on Wednesday. MEPs also again call
on EU member states to investigate these allegations and prosecute those involved.
The US Senate report released in December "reveals new facts that reinforce allegations
that a number of EU member states, their authorities and officials and agents of their
security and intelligence services were complicit in the CIA’s secret detention and
extraordinary rendition programme, sometimes through corrupt means based on
substantial amounts of money provided by the CIA in exchange for their cooperation", say
MEPs in a resolution approved by 363 votes to 290, with 48 abstentions.
In the light of this new evidence, Parliament instructs its civil liberties, foreign affairs and
human rights committees to resume their investigations into the alleged transportation and
illegal detention of prisoners in EU countries by the CIA and to report to plenary within a
year.
This inquiry would entail, for example, sending a parliamentary fact-finding mission to the
EU countries where CIA secret detention sites allegedly existed and gathering all relevant
information and evidence on possible bribes or other acts of corruption linked to the CIA
programme.
Impunity must end
The climate of impunity surrounding the CIA programme has "enabled the continuation of
fundamental rights violations", as further revealed by the mass surveillance programmes
of the US National Security Agency (NSA) and secret services of various EU member
states, MEPs say, stressing that "there can be no impunity" for these violations.
Parliament calls on the US to investigate and prosecute the multiple human rights
violations resulting from the CIA programmes and to cooperate with all requests from EU
countries for information, extradition or effective remedies for victims in connection with
the CIA operations.
On the EU side, MEPs express their concerns about the obstacles encountered by
national parliamentary and judicial investigations, the abuse of state secrecy, and the
undue classification of documents resulting in the termination of criminal proceedings.
They again ask member states to investigate the allegations that there were secret prisons
on their territory and to prosecute those involved in the CIA-led operations.
Parliament condemns the "gruesome interrogation practices" used in the CIA's illegal
counterterrorism operations. It also highlights the US Senate report’s "fundamental
conclusion" that “the violent methods applied by the CIA failed to generate intelligence that
prevented further terrorist attacks”.
Note to editors
The alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal
detention of prisoners was investigated by a European Parliament temporary committee
set up in 2006.
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MEPs have repeatedly called for full investigations into the collaboration of EU member
states with the CIA’s secret detention and extraordinary rendition programme (links to
previous EP resolutions to the right).
Contact
Isabel Teixeira NADKARNI
BXL: (+32) 2 28 32198
STR: (+33) 3 881 76758
PORT: (+32) 498 98 33 36
EMAIL: libe-press@europarl.europa.eu
TWITTER: EP_Justice
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