Brussels, 24/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - The EP's temporary committee investigating the illegal transport and detention ('extraordinary rendition') of prisoners in Europe by the CIA met on 21 and 23 March to hear eye-witness reports by victims and journalists on two specific cases of extraordinary rendition, attempting to prove that the CIA (the US intelligence services) carried out illegal operations in Europe.
Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, explained how after a holiday in Tunis in September 2002, he was detained at JFK Airport in New York and after detention at a maximum security prison for a fortnight, he was chained, shackled and driven to a New Jersey airport to be flown by way of Washington, Rome, Amman and Athens to a military intelligence facility in Syria where he says he was detained for ten months, tortured, abused and forced to make false confessions. 'I am a victim of extraordinary rendition,' he said: 'I am not a terrorist. I am not a member of al Qaeda,' know nobody in al Qaeda and have never been to Afghanistan. 'I was never charged with anything in any country,' he explained. Mr Arar was asked to give details of his stopover in Italy, and explained that nobody boarded the aircraft in Rome: 'I was never seen or spoken to by any Italian official. The agents who accompanied me never identified themselves although I overheard they belonged to a 'special removal unit'.'
The Swedish case. The committee then heard from Kjell Jonsson, the lawyer of Mohammed El Zary, an Egyptian who had lived as a refugee in Sweden since 1991. In December 2001, the Swedish government expelled him to Egypt, stating that he had connections with terrorist groups. The expulsion was carried out by hooded US agents who transferred him to an Egyptian jail by plane, accompanied during the flight by two Swedish policemen. He explained that Mr El Zary was tortured for months and then released without charge in October 20032. The Swedish government nevertheless banned him from entering Sweden for 10 years. 'The two Swedish policemen witnessed El Zary being mistreated at the airport, which, said Mr Jonsson, should have been a strong signal of his fate in Egypt. Yet the authorities did not react and no action has been taken against the policemen,' explains the committee. 'None of the guarantees or diplomatic assurances was respected when Sweden handed him to Egypt,' said Jonsson, adding: 'Now Sweden claims to have no legal responsibility over this case.'
Investigative journalists. Stephen Grey of the New York Times, based in London, said there was 'no doubt' that CIA planes have carried out 'renditions' on European soil, citing sources in Washington, including pilots working for the CIA. Grey referred to specific cases: 'British officials were fully aware of extraordinary renditions being carried in the UK even if they didn't support it…' Regarding the case of an Italian Muslim cleric detained in a Milan street in February 2003 and transferred to a secret jail in Egypt, he said: 'I am absolutely categorical when I say that the Italian government knew about the abduction of Abu Omar. It would be out of normal practice for the CIA to carry out such operations without informing the Member State.' Corriere della Sera journalists Guido Olimpio and Paolo Biondani provided more details on the Abu Omar case. Olimpio said he was sure the CIA had contacts with the Italian intelligence services: 'Italy didn't want to be involved so the CIA ended up operating alone.' Biondani told MEPs: 'A US source from CIA circles in Italy said that for this part of the operation, it is standard procedure for the CIA to inform national authorities before detaining anyone.' Biondani said there was no conclusive evidence of Italian intelligence services' involvement: 'However, it is a logical speculative line of argument to assume they had been informed.'
Speaking to our reporter after these hearings, the temporary committee rapporteur Claudio Fava (PES, Italy) said the Italian authorities had participated more than once in illegal CIA operations in Italy, but perhaps more serious than that was the case of Sweden, which had clearly violated the most basic guarantees of human rights. Fava said he believed such illegal practice was general. The temporary committee will be meeting on 3 April in Strasbourg, where Fava is expected to announce the extension of its investigation (likely to last twelve months). On 20 April, the committee will be addressed by several people, including the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator Guy de Vries. Two members of the temporary committee will travel to the US and to Macedonia to interview officials.