International   

Logs show CIA planes visited Europe

Stephen Grey and Luke Harding

London/Berlin: The row over the secret transfer of terror suspects by the Bush administration took a new twist on Wednesday when it emerged that more than 300 flights operated by the CIA had landed at European airports.

According to flight logs seen by the London-based Guardian newspaper, Germany and the U.K. were the main transit hubs for the CIA, which is alleged to be operating a network of interrogation centres in eastern Europe.

Several European Governments have launched urgent investigations into whether clandestine CIA flights were used in the aftermath of 9/11 to transfer Islamist prisoners to third countries where they could be interrogated beyond the reach of international law.

The allegations have provoked a furore in Europe. On Tuesday the U.K. Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, acting on behalf of the E.U., asked the U.S. to clarify whether planes containing terror suspects — known as ``rendition'' flights — had stopped off in Europe. He also raised the allegations made by Human Rights Watch earlier this month about covert interrogation centres.

The U.S. has so far refused to confirm or deny the reports. But on Tuesday the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, told Germany's new Foreign Minister, Franz-Walter Steinmeier, the administration would respond. Ms. Rice is likely to come under further pressure when she visits Europe next week.

The London Guardian's survey of flight logs taken from 26 CIA planes reveals a far higher level of activity than previously known. The CIA visited Germany 96 times. Britain was second with more than 80 flights by CIA-owned planes, although when charter flights are added the figure rises to more than 200. France was visited twice and Austria not at all, according to the logs, which also reveal regular trips to eastern Europe. While the logs show unprecedented CIA activity, they do not show which planes were involved in prisoner transfers.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Militants attack U.S. bases
AIDS: Europe rejects U.S. policy
Abortion case hearing
PPP hails acquittal
Tension high in the final round of polls in Egypt
U.K. threatened with legal action over "torture'' flights
Logs show CIA planes visited Europe
Heroes Day address positive, says Sri Lanka
Two Saudi women win in landmark election
Help resolve Kashmir dispute, Musharraf tells U.S.

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu