Fruit of the poisonous tree – Member States’ indirect use of extraordinary rendition and the EU counter-terrorism Strategy

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Recent investigations, not least by the EP Temporary Committee, have shed light on the illegal practice of extraordinary renditions and unlawful detentions by foreign security services on European territory, suggesting that the line between cooperation and complicity has become blurred. This paper addresses the issue of how EU member states could not resist taking advantage of extraordinary renditions and unlawful detentions and how they still profit from such practice. Recent examples of this kind profiteering are provided, together with an assessment of their legality. The paper also addresses the issue from an EU perspective and evaluates implications of and for EU counter-terrorism policies, in particular the question of how these policies might be tainted by the counter-terrorism behaviour of member states. A concrete set of policy recommendations is proposed in the last chapter.