CIA above the law? Secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers of detainees in Europe

Has Europe become 'a happy hunting ground' for foreign security services? Is it acceptable, in the name of common security and the fight against terrorism, for citizens to be kidnapped, transferred and arbitrarily detained in secret prisons, and then tortured, on the mere suspicion or terrorism and in defiance of international law? Two investigations by the Parliamentary Assembly into the High Value Detainee (HVD) programme set up by the US Administration after the attacks of 11 September have revealed the global “spider’s web” spun by the CIA. The so-called “extraordinary renditions” programme has resulted in numerous serious human rights violations. It has only been able to function through the co-operation of certain Council of Europe member states, despite the fact that they are bound by European human rights Conventions. Furthermore, the European Commission for Democracy through Law has included its expert legal opinion on general international legal principles and the responsibility that Council of Europe member states would incur if they, either deliberately or by negligence, failed to meet their obligations. This book, with its revealing eye-witness accounts, gives credence to the Council of Europe’s position that if measures to combat terrorism are to be effective in the long term, they must respect human rights and the rule of law.

• Primary Source