[NEW] Report Details CIA Prisons In Europe

Tweet This report was released last week.
The US has definitely been up to no good around
the world.
Will the Dems do anything about this??????
To read about the whole sordid story,
go here: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=33596&s2=11 Linda

"'What was previously just a set of allegations is now proven," the report began. Providing a portrait of lawlessness on an international scale, it noted, "Large numbers of people have been abducted from various locations across the world and transferred to countries where they have been persecuted and where it is known that torture is common practice. Others have been held in arbitrary detention, without any precise charges leveled against them and without any judicial oversight—denied the possibility of defending themselves. Still others have simply disappeared for indefinite periods and have been held in secret prisons, including in member states of the Council of Europe, the existence and operations of which have been concealed ever since."

"The CIA program examined by the report is merely one part of this broader system of detention and abuse (including Guantánamo Bay as well as the network of prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan). "We believe we have shown that the CIA committed a whole series of illegal acts in Europe by abducting individuals, detaining them in secret locations and subjecting them to interrogation techniques tantamount to torture," Marty wrote.

"The newest report by the Council of Europe is based on extensive testimony from current and former intelligence officials in Europe and the US. Marty also obtained raw data on flights in Europe in order to trace the movements of CIA planes transporting prisoners.

"Known within the US government as the "High-Value Detainee Program," the system of secret detention was established shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. A presidential directive signed at that time substantially increased the powers of the CIA, exploiting the "war on terror" to establish a network of prisons that could be used as part of future wars planned by the US.

Later in article--description of tortures used

"The conditions were designed deliberately to dehumanize prisoners and destroy their will. According to the report, prisoners were taken to their cell by "strong people who wore black outfits, masks that covered their whole faces, and dark visors over their eyes." They were stripped and kept naked for weeks. A common feature at the beginning of the prison time was a four-month isolation regime. "During this period of over 120 days, absolutely no human contact was granted with anyone but masked, silent guards."

"Physical torture was also used. Prisoners were subjected to extreme temperatures, regulated by airflow from a single hole at the top of a prisoner’s cell. "There was a shackling ring in the wall of the cell, about half a metre up off the floor," the report states. "Detainees’ hands and feet were clamped in handcuffs and leg irons. Bodies were regularly forced into contorted shapes and chained to this ring for long, painful periods."

"In addition, prisoners were subjected to sensory deprivation and overload. They were at times bombarded with loud music or other sounds, including "distorted verses from the Koran, or irritating noises—thunder, planes taking off, crackling laughter, the screams of women and children."

From Uruknet.info