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European Court Censures Poland Over C.I.A. Rendition Program Court Censures Poland Over C.I.A. Renditions
(about 9 hours later)
PARIS — The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Poland had violated the rights of two terrorism suspects by allowing their transfer to a secret detention center run by the C.I.A. in Poland, where the two men were tortured.PARIS — The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Poland had violated the rights of two terrorism suspects by allowing their transfer to a secret detention center run by the C.I.A. in Poland, where the two men were tortured.
The ruling says Poland failed to prevent the two men — Abu Zubaydah, born in Saudi Arabia, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen — from being subjected to “torture and inhuman or degrading treatment” after they were brought to a clandestine prison in northeast Poland. It ordered Poland to pay 100,000 euros, about $135,000, to Mr. Nashiri and $175,000 to Abu Zubaydah. Both are being held at the American detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The ruling says Poland failed to prevent the two men — Abu Zubaydah, born in Saudi Arabia, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi citizen — from being subjected to “torture and inhuman or degrading treatment” after they were brought to the prison in northeast Poland. It ordered Poland to pay 100,000 euros, about $135,000, to Mr. Nashiri and $175,000 to Abu Zubaydah. Both are now being held at the American detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Abu Zubaydah is believed to have overseen the operation of guesthouses in Pakistan where terrorism recruits arrived; he vetted them and provided letters of recommendation allowing them to be accepted for training at a paramilitary camp in Afghanistan, a former Guantánamo detainee said in a military court filing, for example. Mr. Nashiri is accused of plotting the 2000 bombing of the American destroyer Cole.Abu Zubaydah is believed to have overseen the operation of guesthouses in Pakistan where terrorism recruits arrived; he vetted them and provided letters of recommendation allowing them to be accepted for training at a paramilitary camp in Afghanistan, a former Guantánamo detainee said in a military court filing, for example. Mr. Nashiri is accused of plotting the 2000 bombing of the American destroyer Cole.
The existence of a C.I.A. “black site” prison in Poland has been widely reported for years, but the United States government considers the list of countries that hosted the prisons to be a highly classified secret. Mr. Nashiri has been charged with war crimes before a military commission at Guantánamo, and prosecutors are fighting a request by his defense team that the government turn over certain information related to his treatment by the C.I.A., including where he was held. The existence of a C.I.A. “black site” prison in Poland has been widely reported for years, but the United States government considers the list of countries that hosted the prisons to be highly classified. Mr. Nashiri has been charged with war crimes before a military commission at Guantánamo, and prosecutors are fighting a request by his defense team that the government turn over information related to his treatment by the C.I.A., including where he was held.
It was the first case reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights that involved accusations that Europe was complicit in the C.I.A.'s “extraordinary rendition” program, in which terrorism suspects were sent to third countries for detention and interrogation. The court, based in Strasbourg, France, rules on violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. Governments that sign the convention guarantee their citizens basic standards of civil liberties. It was the first case reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights that involved accusations that Europe was complicit in the C.I.A.’s “extraordinary rendition” program, in which terrorism suspects were sent to third countries for detention and interrogation. The court, based in Strasbourg, France, rules on violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. Governments that sign the convention guarantee their citizens basic standards of civil liberties.
Some of the brutal interrogation methods the C.I.A. used on prisoners under the second Bush administration have been criticized as constituting torture, and spurred a loud debate in the United States. President Obama banned such techniques after taking office in 2009. In addition, human right advocates have condemned the secret rendition program, calling it an unethical way to deny prisoners due process and circumvent the rule of law. But its defenders say it is necessary to combat terrorism. Some of the brutal interrogation methods the C.I.A. used on prisoners during the second Bush administration have been criticized as constituting torture and spurred a loud debate in the United States. In addition, human right advocates have condemned the secret rendition program, calling it an unethical way to deny prisoners due process and circumvent the rule of law. Its defenders say it is necessary to combat terrorism.
A C.I.A. spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the ruling. A White House spokeswoman said: “On the general issue of so-called ‘black sites,’ we have not and will not confirm any purported locations. The overriding point, however, is that this program no longer exists. President Obama in 2009 — in his first week in office — put an end to the C.I.A.'s detention program.” A C.I.A. spokesman did not respond to a request for a comment on the ruling. A White House spokeswoman, Laura Lucas Magnuson, said: “On the general issue of so-called black sites, we have not and will not confirm any purported locations. The overriding point, however, is that this program no longer exists. President Obama in 2009 — in his first week in office — put an end to the C.I.A.’s detention program.”
Gen. Michael V. Hayden, a former director of the C.I.A., has confirmed that the harsh interrogation technique known as waterboarding, which simulates drowning, was used on Abu Zubaydah, Mr. Nashiri and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the Sept. 11 attacks.Gen. Michael V. Hayden, a former director of the C.I.A., has confirmed that the harsh interrogation technique known as waterboarding, which simulates drowning, was used on Abu Zubaydah, Mr. Nashiri and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Joseph Margulies, a visiting professor of law and government at Cornell who is one of Abu Zubaydah’s lawyers, called the ruling a seminal decision that would help force a public reckoning in Europe and the United States about the secret rendition program and its tactics.Joseph Margulies, a visiting professor of law and government at Cornell who is one of Abu Zubaydah’s lawyers, called the ruling a seminal decision that would help force a public reckoning in Europe and the United States about the secret rendition program and its tactics.
“By any measure, this is a historic decision in that it’s the first time a court has condemned a European state for its role in the rendition program,” he said in a telephone interview. “It establishes the public’s right to know what happened. From top to bottom, the case is a comprehensive condemnation of the C.I.A., the black-site program and Poland’s role in it.” “It’s the first time a court has condemned a European state for its role in the rendition program,” he said in a telephone interview. “From top to bottom, the case is a comprehensive condemnation of the C.I.A., the black-site program and Poland’s role in it.”
Professor Margulies said the ruling could have legal implications for other European countries, including Romania and Lithuania, which have been accused of participating in the program in cases before the human rights court.Professor Margulies said the ruling could have legal implications for other European countries, including Romania and Lithuania, which have been accused of participating in the program in cases before the human rights court.
And while the United States is outside the court’s jurisdiction, he said the ruling would help force the Obama administration to address the moral and legal questions raised by the rendition program. “This is the beginning of a genuine accounting of what happened on whose watch and on whose word,” he said.
Amrit Singh of the Open Society Justice Initiative, a rights advocacy group that brought the case on behalf of Mr. Nashiri, said the ruling ended the impunity for those engaged in abuses connected with the rendition program. The group emphasized that the court had ordered Poland to secure assurances from the United States that Mr. Nashiri would not be subject to the death penalty.Amrit Singh of the Open Society Justice Initiative, a rights advocacy group that brought the case on behalf of Mr. Nashiri, said the ruling ended the impunity for those engaged in abuses connected with the rendition program. The group emphasized that the court had ordered Poland to secure assurances from the United States that Mr. Nashiri would not be subject to the death penalty.
“In stark contrast to U.S. courts that have closed their doors to victims of C.I.A. torture,” Ms. Singh said, “this ruling sends an unmistakable signal that these kind of abuses will not be tolerated in Europe, and those who participated in these abuses will be held accountable.”“In stark contrast to U.S. courts that have closed their doors to victims of C.I.A. torture,” Ms. Singh said, “this ruling sends an unmistakable signal that these kind of abuses will not be tolerated in Europe, and those who participated in these abuses will be held accountable.”
The group, which released a detailed report on the rendition program last year, said the European Court of Human Rights was the first court anywhere to publicly confirm the existence of the secret prisons operated by the C.I.A. in Europe.The group, which released a detailed report on the rendition program last year, said the European Court of Human Rights was the first court anywhere to publicly confirm the existence of the secret prisons operated by the C.I.A. in Europe.
After his election, Mr. Obama rejected calls for a national commission to investigate the rendition program, saying he wanted to look forward rather than back. The Senate Intelligence Committee has completed a 6,000-page study of the program but it remains classified, although the White House is declassifying the report’s 400-page executive summary. Professor Margulies said he hoped that the ruling would pressure the Intelligence Committee to release the full report. After his election, Mr. Obama rejected calls for a national commission to investigate the rendition program, saying he wanted to look forward rather than back. The Senate Intelligence Committee has completed a 6,000-page study of the program that remains classified, although the White House is declassifying the report’s 400-page executive summary.
The ruling marks a blow for Poland, which has never publicly acknowledged hosting a C.I.A. prison and has had a fierce public debate about the country’s alleged complicity in the program. As a young democracy that experienced state-sanctioned repression during decades of Communist rule, the accusations have spurred national soul-searching. Poland has never publicly acknowledged hosting a C.I.A. prison, and, as a young democracy that experienced state-sanctioned repression during decades of Communist rule, it had a fierce public debate about its alleged complicity in the program.
Joanna Trzaska-Wieczorek, a spokeswoman for the Polish president’s office, said Thursday that the ruling was “shameful for Poland,” according to the Polish Press Agency. She suggested that leaders of previous governments be questioned. Joanna Trzaska-Wieczorek, a spokeswoman for the Polish president’s office, said Thursday that the ruling was “shameful for Poland,” according to the Polish Press Agency.
Polish analysts said Leszek Miller, prime minister during the period when terrorism suspects were alleged to have been tortured in Poland, could be charged before Poland’s State Tribunal.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment, saying it was still studying the ruling.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment, saying it was still studying the ruling.
Adam Bodnar of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said on TVN24, a leading Polish broadcaster, that a secret prison could not have been organized without the help of the government at the time. Adam Bodnar, vice president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, based in Warsaw, said on TVN24, a leading Polish broadcaster, that a secret prison could not have been organized without the help of the government at the time.
The C.I.A. has never formally revealed the locations of the secret overseas prisons, but intelligence officials, aviation records and news reports have placed them in Afghanistan, Thailand, Romania and Jordan, as well as Poland and other countries. Out of fewer than 100 prisoners held in the prisons, roughly 30 were subjected to what the C.I.A. called “enhanced” interrogation techniques, according to agency officials. The C.I.A. has never formally revealed the locations of its secret overseas prisons, but intelligence officials, aviation records and news reports have placed them in Afghanistan, Jordan, Romania and Thailand, as well as Poland and other countries. Out of fewer than 100 prisoners held there, roughly 30 were subjected to what the C.I.A. called “enhanced” interrogation techniques, according to agency officials.
In Poland, detainees were held in a makeshift prison at a secret base near Szymany Airport, about 100 miles north of Warsaw, officials have said.
In 2006, a Council of Europe report contended that 14 European countries worked with the C.I. A to secretly transfer terrorism suspects, and two of them — Romania and Poland — probably harbored secret C.I.A. detention centers.
In its 67-page report, the Council, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights, said it was disingenuous for Europe to portray itself as a reluctant victim of an operation led by the United States when European countries played an active role.