Human Rights watchdog Council of Europe again accused intelligence agencies of
several European nations to have colluded with the US Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) in the illegal detention and transfer of terror suspects in or
across the continent. The report cited Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Britain,
Italy, Macedonia, Germany and Turkey as “responsible, at varying degrees for
violations of the rights of specific persons”.
CoE told its Parliamentary Assembly that that “It has been proved that agents
from national intelligence services colluded in the handing over and the
transportation of persons suspected of terrorism.” On June 7, CoE had accused
14 European countries of this crime while seven other countries (Poland,
Romania, Spain, Cyprus, Ireland, Portugal and Greece) “could be held
responsible for collusion — active or passive.”
Council of Europe has called for a resolution that asks for effective measures
to combat terrorism but maintaining respect for human rights.
The US has already criticized the CoE report as a list of unproven
allegations. Faced with
increasingly harsh criticism of its methods by allies,
non-government organizations and after the suicide
deaths of detainees at the Guantanamo Center, the
US has promised to respect human rights.