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Pressure on E.U. members to own up renditions

David Gow

Brussels: More than a dozen European Governments came under severe pressure on Tuesday to own up their secret services' role in handing over suspected terrorists to U.S. intelligence after Franco Frattini, the E.U. Justice Commissioner, admitted for the first time that European territory had been used for ``extraordinary renditions''.

As the Council of Europe, Europe's leading human rights watchdog, voted to continue its inquiry into CIA secret flights, Terry Davis, the secretary general, proposed new laws to control national security services and revised safeguards on the use of civil and military aircraft.

Nations named

Mr. Frattini's intervention came as parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly to approve a report by Liberal Swiss Senator Dick Marty that ``named and shamed'' 14 European states, including Britain, Germany and Sweden, and watched a video containing direct testimony on secret detention and torture from two survivors.

He said in Strasbourg it was a ``fact'' that incidents of ``extraordinary rendition'' had taken place on European territory since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. but insisted it was unclear whether Governments were aware of them or had cooperated. Urging national Governments to investigate alleged CIA activities on their territories, he said: ``It's extremely premature to draw consequences from the elements so far available. What we must do is make sure that national authorities understand that they not only have the power but the duty to carry out judicial investigations.''

He added: ``They have the duty to establish national committees. I am determined to encourage, to put political pressure if necessary, on the Home Affairs Ministers so that we get the results [of the inquiries].'' Mr Marty said collaboration with the CIA was ``proven'' and Mr Frattini said his report had shown ``facts''.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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