CIA flooded the whole world with prisons
In 2005, there was a scandal involving a large number of states. And it all started with the publication in one of the most authoritative American publications - The Washington Post, in an article stating that the United States has a number of secret prisons for the maintenance of terrorists. The biggest intrigue in this message was that these prisons were located, mainly in the territory of Eastern European countries.
After the September terrorist attack, the CIA began to implement measures to suppress the activities of terrorist organizations by force. One of the measures was the creation of the American program of secret prisons and the transfer of detainees. 55 countries around the world participated in this program.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to investigate the information voiced in the American media.
The check was entrusted to the Swiss Senator Dick Marty. Marty used his satellite tracking data (Eurocontrol) to conduct his investigation. This method is effective in obtaining information about all flights that operate over the territory of Europe. Based on the information received, Marty concluded that the governments of the countries where the CIA secret prisons were located could not have been unaware of the activities of the American special services on their territory, since the movement of terrorists was carried out by means of airplanes rented by American special services. In the final report of Marty sounded that the CIA has created a global network, engaged in the secret movement of persons suspected of terrorism. And that 14 countries of the Council of Europe voluntarily participated in this program. Information on the placement of secret prisons in Poland, Romania and Lithuania has been confirmed. The Assembly recommended the PACE Committee of Ministers to decide on the removal of secrecy by the states regarding information on the existence of secret prisons.
At the same time, the Romanian authorities believe that the information on the cooperation of the Romanian special services with the CIA is an internal affair of the country and refused to conduct investigations on this issue. But the information still leaks to the media. Information about a secret prison located near the center of Bucharest was placed in one of the New York Times rooms. It existed for three years (since 2003) in a building designed to store the archive of secret information of Romania. The prison premises were designed for the maintenance of six prisoners. The cell had a clock and a direction indicator for Mecca so that those held in custody could perform prayers on time. In this prison, the conditions of detention were rather mild compared to other prisons of the CIA: torture consisted of requiring prisoners to stand motionless for a long time, as well as to douche with water.
ABC News on American television reported that eight al-Qaida members were kept in secret Romanian prisons. The organization of this dungeon involved one of the leaders of the CIA in Europe - Kyle D. Foggo. He did not hide the fact that his actions were completely aimed at helping his country in the fight against terrorists.
Lithuanian authorities also acknowledged the fact that the aircraft leased by the CIA had landed in the country. Participation in the American program was agreed with the Department of Security of Lithuania. The first prison was established in Lithuanian territory in the 2002 year, and the second in 2005 year. One of them contained Abu Zubaydah, who was secretly brought to the territory of the country by CIA officers from Morocco. The Lithuanian leadership claims that they did not know about the cooperation of the Lithuanian special services and the CIA in the participation in the program of creating secret prisons. And in 2011, the investigation into this matter was discontinued due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal offenses.
In Poland, against the background of intense competition between the parties, the scandal with the presence of secret prisons on its territory has gained a lot of publicity. Many Polish politicians believe that Poland, being a democratic, sovereign and parliamentary country, did not have the right to create prisons, where CIA officers tortured prisoners. But, most likely, the noise around the participation of Poland in the American program of struggle against terrorists is associated not so much with outrage over the violation of Polish sovereignty, as with political games inside the country and failures in solving economic problems. Under investigation was the chief of Polish intelligence, who was required to disclose information about the secret prison, located in Kejkuty. But they have made it clear from across the ocean that one should be very careful when transferring documents to the investigation, since ill-considered actions may adversely affect Polish-American relations.
Despite the prudence with which the investigation was conducted, it was documented that the Keikuts contained suspected terrorists Abd al-Rahim Hussein Abdu al Nasiri and Abu Zubayd (currently they are in Guantanamo prison).
Polish human rights activists believe that Poland, having placed on its territory premises for the maintenance of terrorists, went on about the United States.
But not all politicians support the idea of punishing officials who allowed the creation of a secret prison in the state. Piotr Skvetsinski, an authoritative Polish politician, believes that this act should be regarded as appropriate to the security of the state: after all, the whole West is under the threat of a terrorist attack, and Poland, as a European country, cannot stand aside from the fight against terror. Terrorists have declared war, and therefore the use of torture by terrorists in Keikuty is warranted for reasons of war.
Despite the difference in opinions, all parties recognize the violation of the Polish constitution and state sovereignty when the president decides to create a torture prison on the territory of Poland that has extraterritorial status. The Polish community feels insulted by the behavior of its American ally, using the territory of Poland to create a branch of the Guantanamo camp.
The representative of France at the meeting of the Commission of the European Parliament Helene Flutre presented her report on secret prisons in Europe, which raised the question of the role of NATO in this American program. She suggested that there is a document which obliges the countries that are members of NATO to assist in the implementation of the program to combat terrorism.
According to available information, during the 2001-2006 period, many suspects of terrorism were kept in secret prisons. They were subjected to cruel methods of exposure: from sleep deprivation and food, and exposure to loud music to torture, simulating drowning.
Particularly ruthless methods of exposure were experienced by terrorists suspected in the secret prisons of the United States "Al-Tamara" (Morocco) and "Mulhak al-Mazr" (Egypt). There is also information on the availability of CIA isolators in the territories of Azerbaijan, Thailand, Ukraine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Italy.
The United States believes that the system of secret prisons is a basic element for the fight against terrorism. And, in order not to create a scandal in their own country, they prefer to contain terrorists on foreign territory, where no one will look for prisoners. In almost all cases, the leadership of secret prisons in the territory of other states is exercised by the CIA officers. It was the intelligence officers who controlled the process from detention to interrogation of each prisoner. Sometimes US intelligence agencies used third-party organizations for these purposes. In the arsenal of prison officers during interrogations there were such actions as beating, torture with cold, psychological methods, exposure to loud noise, etc.
All explanations of US government officials about the existence of secret prisons boil down to the statement that there is no use of torture on prisoners.
In connection with the conduct of an international investigation concerning US secret prisons located in the territories of other states, President Obama ordered the closure of all CIA prisons in 2009.
Presidential instruction was executed as soon as possible. The exception was the Guantanamo prison, which they did not close because the 50 remained a particularly dangerous criminal in it.
I must say that the United States is not united in this matter. Thus, the secret prisons have not only the CIA, but also the British intelligence service MI-6.
In China, there is a whole system of secret prisons, where not only criminals are kept, but also dissenters. And although official Chinese authorities claim that law and order is observed in the country, many citizens who are disagreeable to the authorities are kept in special hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and prisons.
Such countries as Algeria, India, Sudan, Iran, Zimbabwe, Egypt use the same Chinese practice of fighting citizens as a threat to national security.
Unlike the American authorities, who hide information about prisons for terrorists, Russia agrees to allow Manfred Nowak, the UN authorized representative, to prisons where Chechen fighters are kept, and give him the opportunity to communicate with prisoners.
Most likely, the trial with the secret prisons of the CIA of the USA will end with cautious public confessions of the authorities not only of the United States of America, but also of other countries. After some time, the system of secret prisons will be restored, since the CIA’s methods of work are far from always legal, and the fight against terrorism is not over.
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