Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Italian court convicts 23 in CIA rendition case
An Italian court on 04 November convicted 22 CIA operatives and a U.S. Air Force colonel of orchestrating the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric here in 2003 and flying him to Egypt, where he said he was tortured. The case is the only instance in which CIA operatives have faced a criminal trial for the controversial tactic of extraordinary rendition, under which terrorism suspects are seized in one country and forcibly transported to another without judicial oversight. A similar case involving a German citizen kidnapped in the Balkans has resulted in arrest warrants and a civil lawsuit but has not gone to trial.
The CIA and other U.S. officials have contended that extraordinary renditions, which began during the Clinton administration and accelerated under the Bush White House after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, are permissible under U.S. law to capture terrorism suspects in foreign countries.
"I am not guilty. I am only responsible for following an order I received from my superiors," R. S. Lady said. "It was not a criminal act. It was a state affair."
Labels: CIA, egypt, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, Lady R S, rendition
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
USA did not sign "enforced disappearances" ban
The Bush administration declined to endorse a treaty meant to bar and punish "enforced disappearances" so that those overseeing the CIA's secret prison system would not be criminally prosecuted under its provisions. At least 81 countries have now signed, including all members of the European Union and many nations with checkered human rights records, such as Algeria, Argentina, Cuba and Guatemala.
A White House official said the Obama administration is reviewing the previous U.S. stance on the treaty as part of a wider look at international human rights accords that Washington has not signed. The official did not say when a decision might be made.
Labels: "enforced disappearances", black site, cia flights, detainee, extraordinary rendition, flight, John le Carré, rendition
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Rendition SOP
Huffington
ACLU
Labels: black site, cia flights, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, rendition sop manual
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
ENDING IRELAND’S ROLE IN RENDITIONS
Shannon Airport
Labels: Abu Omar, CIA, detainee, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, Shannon
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Underlying charge of complicity
Two members of the banned group Lashkar e Tayyiba, which has links to al-Qaeda, understood to be Pakistani nationals, apprehended by UK forces in Iraq had been transferred to US custody in 2004 then transported to Afghanistan. They are still being held in Afghanistan, where they are classified as "unlawful enemy combatants". Defence secretary John Hutton said there was no "substantiated evidence" that they had been mistreated or subjected to abuse there. "There is a underlying charge of complicity with serious abuse of people detained by British forces on operations overseas."
Labels: Afghanistan, flight, Iraq, John le Carré, Lashkar e Tayyiba, rendition
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Creative Rendition con'd
Pirates captured in the Gulf of Aden were transferred to the USNS Lewis and Clark by helicopter, winched onto the ship's deck by crew members and led below deck to a holding area by US Marines.
"They will remain onboard (the Lewis and Clark) until information and evidence is assembled and evaluated so a decision can be made regarding their further transfer"
The nine-man crew that attempted a boarding of the MT Prem Divya were taken into custody joined seven other pirates captured February 11 from a small skiff containing that had attempted a forcible boarding of the MV Polaris using a ladder. Forcible boarding
Labels: black site, detainee, detention, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, lewis clark, Prem Diva, usns
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Creative Rendition
On February 11, the navy said, the MV Polaris, sailing under a Marshall Island flag, sent a distress call saying that seven men on a skiff had tried to force their way on board using a ladder. The Vella Gulf intercepted the skiff, found weapons and seized the suspects. For now the group is being held aboard the Lewis and Clark, a U.S. Navy ship equipped with bare-bones holding cells. Pentagon video footage showed thin black pallets and pillows spread on the floor and surrounded by coils of barbed wire.
USNS Lewis and Clark
Crew124 civilian, 11 naval, helicopter detachment when required
Overall Length210m
Length Between Perpendiculars199.55m
Beam32.2m
Design Draught9.12m
Scantling Draught (Maximum to Which Vessel is Loaded)9.50m
Displacement at Design Draught
The ships, which are not armed and are classified as non-combatant ships, are capable of operating independently for extended periods at sea while providing underway replenishment services and contribute to the US Navy's ability to maintain a forward presence.
Labels: black site, detainee, John le Carré, lewis clark, prison, rendition, T-AKE+1, usns
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
“Thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials "
Justice lawyer, Douglas N. Letter, made the state-secrets argument on February 9, startling several judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hearing the Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. case.
“Is there anything material that has happened” that might have caused the Justice Department to shift its views, asked Judge Mary M. Schroeder, an appointee of President Jimmy Carter, coyly referring to the recent election.
“No, your honor,” Mr. Letter replied.
Judge Schroeder asked, “The change in administration has no bearing?”
Once more, he said, “No, Your Honor.” The position he was taking in court on behalf of the government had been “thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials within the new administration,” and “these are the authorized positions,” he said.
Labels: black site, cia flights, detainees, Jeppesen, John le Carré, prison, rendition
Friday, February 06, 2009
No brave new world -IV
Mr. Panetta also said the agency would continue the Bush administration practice of “rendition” — picking terrorism suspects off the street and sending them to a third country. But he said the agency would refuse to deliver a suspect into the hands of a country known for torture or other actions “that violate our human values.”
Labels: black site, cia flights detainees, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, rendition
Thursday, January 22, 2009
No brave new world -3rd
President Obama is expected to sign executive orders that would allow its officers abroad to temporarily detain terrorism suspects and transfer them to other agencies, but would no longer allow the agency to carry out long-term detentions. They could also allow Mr. Obama to reinstate the C.I.A.’s detention and interrogation operations in the future, by presidential order, as some have argued would be appropriate if Osama bin Laden or another top-level leader of Al Qaeda were captured. The White House might be open to allowing the use of methods other the 19 techniques allowed for the military.
Labels: black site, CIA, cia flights, craig obama, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, prison
Monday, December 15, 2008
No brave new world
John A Rizzo
New York Times on 14 Dec. 08:
Mr. Obama will soon face the same awful choices that confronted George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and he could well be forced to accept a central feature of their anti-terrorist methods: extraordinary rendition. If the choice is between non-deniable aggressive questioning conducted by Americans and deniable torturous interrogations by foreigners acting on behalf of the United States, it is almost certain that as president Mr. Obama will choose the latter.
New York Times on 14 Dec. 08:
Mr. Obama will soon face the same awful choices that confronted George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and he could well be forced to accept a central feature of their anti-terrorist methods: extraordinary rendition. If the choice is between non-deniable aggressive questioning conducted by Americans and deniable torturous interrogations by foreigners acting on behalf of the United States, it is almost certain that as president Mr. Obama will choose the latter.
Labels: black site, CIA, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, torture
Thursday, October 02, 2008
A Most Wanted Man
A first-class novel about the most pressing moral and political concerns of our time, not least the scandal of extraordinary rendition. John le Carré is at his shrewd and cynical best in a novel tackling the key moral issues of the day, writes Charles Cumming. Telegraph
Labels: cia flights, detainee, extraordinary rendition, John le Carré, wanted man
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
