Council of Europe publishes draft report on Government involvement in extraordinary rendition - How will the final draft differ?
The following is from Craig Murray:
Council of Europe publishes draft report on Government involvement in extraordinary rendition
A draft report on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners (2006/2200(INI)) is now in circulation. The full draft can be downloaded from here.
The report slams the UK government for its lack of cooperation with the enquiry, condems its involvement in extraordinary rendition, and is outraged by the legal advice provided by the then legal advisor to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Time will tell how many of its findings survive the inevitable political pressure and make it through to the final version.
THE UNITED KINGDOM
57. Deplores the way in which the British Government, as represented by its Minister for Europe, cooperated with the temporary committee;
58. Thanks the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Renditions (APPG), comprising members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, for its work and for providing the temporary committee delegation to London with a number of highly valuable documents;
59. Condemns the extraordinary rendition of Bisher Al-Rawi, an Iraqi citizen and resident of the UK, and Jamil El-Banna, a Jordanian citizen and resident of the UK, who were arrested by Gambian authorities in Gambia in November 2002, turned over to US agents, and flown to Afghanistan and then to Guantánamo, where they remain detained without trial or any form of judicial assistance;
60. Condemns the multiple extraordinary rendition of Binyam Mohammed, Ethiopian citizen and resident of the UK; points out that Binyam Mohammed has been held in at least two secret detention facilities, in addition to military prisons;
61. Is deeply disturbed by the testimony of Binyam Mohammed's lawyer, who gave an account of the most horrific torture endured by his client to the official delegation of the temporary committee to the UK;
62. Points out that the telegrams from UK security service to an unspecified foreign government, which were released to the Chairman of the APPG, Andrew Tyrie, suggest that the abduction of Bisher Al-Rawi and Jamil El-Banna was facilitated by partly erroneous information supplied by the UK security service MI5;
63. Emphasises that the former UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jack Straw, conceded in December 2005 that UK intelligence officials met Binyam Mohammed when he was arrested in Pakistan; points out in this respect that some of the questions put by the Moroccan officials to Binyam Mohammed, appear to have been inspired by information supplied by the UK;
64. Condemns the extraordinary rendition of UK citizen Martin Mubanga, who met the official delegation of the temporary committee to the UK, and who was arrested in Zambia in March 2002 and subsequently flown to Guantánamo; regrets the fact that Martin Mubanga was interrogated by British officials in Guantánamo where he was detained and tortured for four years without trial or any form of judicial assistance, and then released without charge;
65. Criticises the unwillingness of the UK Government to provide consular assistance to Bisher Al-Rawi and Jamil El-Banna on the grounds that they are not UK citizens;
66. Thanks Craig Murray, former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan, for his very valuable testimony to the temporary committee on the exchange of intelligence obtained under torture and for providing a copy of the legal opinion of Michael Wood, former legal advisor to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
67. Is outraged by Michael Wood's legal opinion, according to which "receiving or possessing" information extracted under torture, in so far as there is no direct participation in the torture, is not per se prohibited by the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; points out that Michael Wood declined to give testimony...
Also, be sure to check out this from obsolete, reminding us of Jack Straws evidence[sic] on the subject back in December 2005:
How convenient that we have
How convenient that we have the obscure and deeply confused spy vs. spy vs. spy storyline to ensure we don't focus toooo much on a story just as compromising and complex...No wonder The Dear leader wants to resurrect the Cold War -- another set of bogeymen to frighten the citizenry. No. 10 should consult old 1950s textbooks from grade schools in the US.These are particularly good at frightening the bejesus out of children and people inclined to think and vote independently. Alistair et alia can put them to good use. Not too long, folks, before the local constabulary start issuing us with flashlights to look for reds under our beds (save for the one at the top of Home Office and others in the leadership.....
Of course Wood has declined
Of course Wood has declined to comment, he's fully aware that his position in this affair is totally unsupportable. Lest we forget, the British state has routinely practicsed torture for some time now. Extraordinary rendition is merely a semantic novelty. In recent years the British Army carried out torture operations in N.Ireland, and the SAS were deployed by the last tory administration to act as trainers and advisors to 'Democratic Kampuchea' - the political wing of the Khmer Rouge.
Military manuals never make reference to torture. The term used is Psychological Warefare, and it just so happens that one of the major modalities is torture.