CIA tried to silence EU on torture flights

[spindrifter]

Richard Norton-Taylor
Thursday October 26, 2006
The Guardian


The CIA tried to persuade Germany to silence EU protests about the human rights record of one of America's key allies in its clandestine torture flights programme, the Guardian can reveal.

According to a secret intelligence report, the CIA offered to let Germany have access to one of its citizens, an al-Qaida suspect being held in a Moroccan cell. But the US secret agents demanded that in return, Berlin should cooperate and "avert pressure from EU" over human rights abuses in the north African country. The report describes Morocco as a "valuable partner in the fight against terrorism".

The classified documents prepared for the German parliament last February make clear that Berlin did eventually get to see the detained suspect, who was arrested in Morocco in 2002 as an alleged organiser of the September 11 strikes.

He was flown from Morocco to Syria on another rendition flight. Syria offered access to the prisoner on the condition that charges were dropped against Syrian intelligence agents in Germany accused of threatening Syrian dissidents. Germany dropped the charges, but denied any link.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1931693,00.html

[Solly Mack]

1. the complicit don't tend to hold their partners in crime

accountable for actions that will only get them in trouble as well


Are they any countries not guilty of conspiring with the US in war crimes?

I'm sure there are but damn...