Temporary committee on CIA activities
Investigation into illegal detention of prisoners in Europe
Statements by American officials, newspapers' reports and NGOs' allegations refer to the existence of CIA secret detention centres in Europe, illegal abductions and ill-treatment of prisoners.
In the view of the Green/Efa group in the European Parliament, if such allegations are confirmed, they constitute a flagrant breach of Fundamental Rights. That is why we committed ourselves in favour of a parliamentary investigation. As a result and thanks also to the support of other MEPs, the European Parliament agreed on 18 January to set up a temporary committee to investigate allegations of the transport and illegal detention of prisoners by the CIA in European countries.
The temporary committee's mandate will be to collect and analyse information to find out:
whether the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or other US agents or intelligence services of other third countries have carried out abductions, "extraordinary rendition", detentions at secret sites, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners on EU territory or in acceding or candidate countries, or have used this territory to these ends, for example by through flights to or from such countries;
whether such actions, which would have been carried out as part of the fight against terrorism, could be considered a violation of the EU Treaty, in particular Article 6 of the EU Treaty on the respect for Fundamental Rights in the European Union, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and other international treaties and agreements.
Such committee should determine
whether EU citizens have been detained;
whether EU Member States or institutions have been involved or have been complicit in the illegal deprivation of the liberty of individuals.
Green members involved in the temporary committee are working to get to the bottom of these allegations. The committee will submit an interim report within four months.
Our Members in this Committee are :
Cem Özdemir, Vice-President
Kathalijne Buitenweg, Member
Jean Lambert, Substitute Member
Raül Romeva i Rueda, Substitute Member
