PAPER CHASE NEWSBURST
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Thursday, January 12, 2006

European Parliament opens CIA secret prisons inquiry
Joshua Pantesco at 4:23 PM ET

[JURIST] The European Parliament [official website] Thursday opened an official investigation [press release] into allegations that several European countries allowed the CIA to secretly detain prisoners [JURIST report] within their borders and airspace as part of the US "war on terror". The investigation will determine:
- whether the CIA or other US agents or intelligence services of other third countries have carried out abductions, "extraordinary rendition", detentions at secret sites, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners on EU territory or in acceding or candidate countries, or have used this territory to these ends, for example by through flights to or from such countries;

- whether such actions, which would have been carried out as part of the fight against terrorism, could be considered a violation of Article 6 of the EU Treaty, of certain provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and of other international treaties and agreements, including EU-US agreements on extradition;

- whether EU citizens have been detained;

- whether EU Member States or institutions have been involved or have been complicit in the illegal deprivation of the liberty of individuals."
EU rules strip member nations of voting rights in the EU's Council of Ministers if the state is found guilty of a serious human rights violation, and EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said in November that the EU would sanction any country found to house such facilities. Last December the European Parliament voted 359-127 to investigate the claims [JURIST report] after Human Rights Watch publicized evidence supporting allegations that Poland and Romania have allowed the CIA to operate secret prisons within their borders. The EU launched its own investigation [JURIST report] last November, the day after the Washington Post broke the story. Reuters has more.



Link | e-mail report   | how to subscribe | JURIST news archive | © JURIST

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 SEC approves rule amendments for credit ratings agencies
5:01 PM ET, December 3

 ICC temporarily postpones Bemba pre-trial proceedings
3:38 PM ET, December 3

 Supreme Court hears tobacco, federal claims cases
3:04 PM ET, December 3

 click for more...

LATEST FORUM

Are Utah and Arkansas the New Centers of the Gay Rights Movement?

D. Nejaime, UCLA Schl. Law

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news weblog, powered by a team of 20 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@law.pitt.edu