Germany Orders 13 Arrests Over Alleged CIA Kidnapping/Bloomberg.com

[Myra Bronstein]

Germany Orders 13 Arrests Over Alleged CIA Kidnapping (Update3)

By Patrick Donahue

Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- A court in Munich ordered the arrest of 13 people for the alleged abduction of Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen who says he was seized by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and taken to a secret prison in Afghanistan.

Evidence collected by prosecutors yielded ``clearly identifiable'' individuals who may be undercover CIA agents, the Munich prosecutor, which obtained the warrants, said today on its Web site. The 13 could be charged with deprivation of liberty and aggravated assault for the alleged seizure of el-Masri on Dec. 31, 2003, in Macedonia.

El-Masri's claim of being kidnapped and flown to a prison where he was subjected to coercive interrogation has sparked a parliamentary probe in Germany and cast light on the U.S. practice of capturing terror suspects abroad and sending them to a third country, or ``extraordinary rendition.''

...

Broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk reported that most of the suspects live in North Carolina and three of them have refused to address the allegations when confronted. NDR said the crew operated out of Majorca and worked for Aero Contractors, the successor of the CIA's former secret airline Air America.

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield, at the organization's Langley, Virginia, headquarters, declined to comment, as did Robert Wood, the press attaché at the U.S. embassy in Berlin.

The investigation is one of several European legal procedures examining alleged U.S. renditions. Milan prosecutors say CIA and Italian operatives kidnapped an Egyptian cleric in 2003 and flew him to Egypt, where he was tortured during questioning. Italy's former intelligence chief, Nicolo Pollari, told a court this week that he's being used as a scapegoat by prosecutors.

...

Chancellor Angela Merkel said after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Dec. 6, 2005, in Berlin that the two had discussed el-Masri and that the ``the U.S. conceded'' that the seizure was ``a mistake.'' While U.S. officials later disputed Merkel's statement, the German government has said Merkel's statement ``can stand as it is.''

Last May, the CIA asked a judge to dismiss el-Masri's lawsuit because it involves secret information that can't be disclosed in court. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented el-Masri, and other human rights groups have said such abductions violate international law and Bush administration pledges against torture.

...

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: January 31, 2007 10:21 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...p;refer=germany

(Bold text added by me/Myra.)

[William Kelly]

Thanks for that Myra,

Douglas Caddy's posting of the German mag interview with ex-CIA - he must be ex, or he would't talk like that - is part of the same repercussions of this issue.

There's also the case in Italy of similar import:

Italian wants American's indicted in '03 abduction

By Colleen Barry AP - MILAN, Italy - An Italian prosecutor requested the indictment yesterday of 26 Americans and five Italian secret service officials in the 2003 abduction of an Egyptian clerick in Milan - a case that continues to be an irritant to US-Italian relations.

Prosecutor Armando Spataro said the indictment requests was aimed at CIA officers and the foremr head of the Italian military intelligence, Nicolo Pollari, for alleged involvement in the abduction.

Prosecutors have identified all but one of the Americans as working for the CIA, including former station chiefs in Rome and Milan, and the 26th as an Air Force officer stationed at the time at Aviano air base, near Venice.

Last month, Spataro asked the center-left government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi to request the Americans' extradiction; he has not reveived a response.

The operation was believed to be part of an alleged CIA "extraordinary rendition" program, in which terrorism suspects are transferred to third countries, where some allegedly are tortured. It is the first known prosecution of alleged participants in such operations, which have come under growing criticism by U.S. allies in Europe.

The United States and Italy have an extradition treaty, although it is not likely that CIA officers will be turned over for trial abroad. In soem instances, only their aliases are known.

Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, an Egyptian cler and terrorist suspect also known as Abu Omar, allegedly was abducted from a Milan street in February 2003 and flown out of Italy from Aviano.

Among the Americans named at the request are Robert Seldon Lady, a former station chief in Milan, and Jeffrey Castelli, identified as a formmer CIA chief Rome.

Spataro also is seeking indictments on charges of aiding and abetting against two other secret service officials and the deputy director of the newspaper Libro, Renato Farina.

From the ouset, US officials have declined comment. Attorney for Lady, the only American who was living in Italy when arrest warrents were issued, said she was surprised by the indictment request. "Even the documents of the prosecutor show that he was not an organizer," lawyer Daria Pesce said. "If anythhing, he was someone who obeyed orders."

Lady left the country before the warrent was served. Pesce said he lives in the United States but declined to say where."

[William Kelly]

Thanks for that Myra,

Douglas Caddy's posting of the German mag interview with ex-CIA - he must be ex, or he would't talk like that - is part of the same repercussions of this issue.

There's also the case in Italy of similar import:

Italian wants American's indicted in '03 abduction

By Colleen Barry AP - MILAN, Italy - An Italian prosecutor requested the indictment yesterday of 26 Americans and five Italian secret service officials in the 2003 abduction of an Egyptian clerick in Milan - a case that continues to be an irritant to US-Italian relations.

Prosecutor Armando Spataro said the indictment requests was aimed at CIA officers and the foremr head of the Italian military intelligence, Nicolo Pollari, for alleged involvement in the abduction.

Prosecutors have identified all but one of the Americans as working for the CIA, including former station chiefs in Rome and Milan, and the 26th as an Air Force officer stationed at the time at Aviano air base, near Venice.

Last month, Spataro asked the center-left government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi to request the Americans' extradiction; he has not reveived a response.

The operation was believed to be part of an alleged CIA "extraordinary rendition" program, in which terrorism suspects are transferred to third countries, where some allegedly are tortured. It is the first known prosecution of alleged participants in such operations, which have come under growing criticism by U.S. allies in Europe.

The United States and Italy have an extradition treaty, although it is not likely that CIA officers will be turned over for trial abroad. In soem instances, only their aliases are known.

Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, an Egyptian cler and terrorist suspect also known as Abu Omar, allegedly was abducted from a Milan street in February 2003 and flown out of Italy from Aviano.

Among the Americans named at the request are Robert Seldon Lady, a former station chief in Milan, and Jeffrey Castelli, identified as a formmer CIA chief Rome.

Spataro also is seeking indictments on charges of aiding and abetting against two other secret service officials and the deputy director of the newspaper Libro, Renato Farina.

From the ouset, US officials have declined comment. Attorney for Lady, the only American who was living in Italy when arrest warrents were issued, said she was surprised by the indictment request. "Even the documents of the prosecutor show that he was not an organizer," lawyer Daria Pesce said. "If anythhing, he was someone who obeyed orders."

Lady left the country before the warrent was served. Pesce said he lives in the United States but declined to say where."

[Robert Charles-Dunne]

Among the extraordinary renditions conducted by the US administration are several Canadian citizens who were deported by the US to Syria, where they were tortured. The Canadian government, which has committed a multitude of sins in this matter, has now formally acknowledged that the first such innocent party is entitled to compensation for the nearly-a-year he spent in cramped solitary confinement, subjected to Syrian torture. The compensation tops ten million dollars. He is the first of several such cases now being adjudicated.

In this instance, the US deported a Canadian citizen to Syria, in wholesale violation of international laws requiring deportees to be returned to the country where they hold citizenship. Despite having being cleared of all suspicion by Canadian authorities, the US continues to maintain that it has its own information on the former "suspect," which disinclines them to remove him from various watch lists, including the "no fly" list. Canadian authorities, Tories usually quick to kowtow to US interests, have seen the "information" held by the US on this "suspect" and said it is irrelevant.

Those interested in US treatment of its friendly neighbours to the north can read more about this here:

http://www.alternet.org/rights/47331/

[As Jon Stewart once cheekily noted: "Dude, you managed to piss off the Canadians????"]

Lest Forum members from elsewhere think Canadians are either apathetic to the "war on terror" or entirely reasonable in their approach, one might wish to ponder this: for more than four years, Canada has held a handful of Muslims in solitary confinement, without charge, without access to legal counsel, without any habeas corpus rights as are guaranteed to all Canadians, with no requirement that the foregoing sins must be remedied in a timely fashion. They are held under a "security certificate," which apparently entitles the government to strip the non-accused of all guaranteed human rights. It is done by ministerial fiat and cannot be undone, it seems. In the meantime, the Kafkaesque non-suspect, non-person detainees continue to languish without charge or the promise that a charge will even ever be laid.

Bush, Blair and Howard have no monopoly on the callous disregard for the legally enshrined human rights of their own citizenry. It seems contagious.

[Myra Bronstein]

Among the extraordinary renditions conducted by the US administration are several Canadian citizens who were deported by the US to Syria, where they were tortured. The Canadian government, which has committed a multitude of sins in this matter, has now formally acknowledged that the first such innocent party is entitled to compensation for the nearly-a-year he spent in cramped solitary confinement, subjected to Syrian torture. The compensation tops ten million dollars. He is the first of several such cases now being adjudicated.

In this instance, the US deported a Canadian citizen to Syria, in wholesale violation of international laws requiring deportees to be returned to the country where they hold citizenship. Despite having being cleared of all suspicion by Canadian authorities, the US continues to maintain that it has its own information on the former "suspect," which disinclines them to remove him from various watch lists, including the "no fly" list. Canadian authorities, Tories usually quick to kowtow to US interests, have seen the "information" held by the US on this "suspect" and said it is irrelevant.

Those interested in US treatment of its friendly neighbours to the north can read more about this here:

http://www.alternet.org/rights/47331/

[As Jon Stewart once cheekily noted: "Dude, you managed to piss off the Canadians????"]

Lest Forum members from elsewhere think Canadians are either apathetic to the "war on terror" or entirely reasonable in their approach, one might wish to ponder this: for more than four years, Canada has held a handful of Muslims in solitary confinement, without charge, without access to legal counsel, without any habeas corpus rights as are guaranteed to all Canadians, with no requirement that the foregoing sins must be remedied in a timely fashion. They are held under a "security certificate," which apparently entitles the government to strip the non-accused of all guaranteed human rights. It is done by ministerial fiat and cannot be undone, it seems. In the meantime, the Kafkaesque non-suspect, non-person detainees continue to languish without charge or the promise that a charge will even ever be laid.

Bush, Blair and Howard have no monopoly on the callous disregard for the legally enshrined human rights of their own citizenry. It seems contagious.

Whereas the stories of US abuses can no longer shock me very much, Canadian abuses do shock me. Guess I'm naive about Canada.

Damn Robert, you sure hit the nail on the head with the Kafka comparisons. And of course Kafka hit the nail on the head when he showed how those denied basic human rights are treated like insects, devoid of dignity and individuality and control. I guess, in this metaphor, the gov't would be a big shoe.

I also have to give you style points for referencing Kafka and Jon Stewart in the same post.

[Len Colby]

Interesting story but please explain the link to the JFK assassination.

[William Kelly]

Interesting story but please explain the link to the JFK assassination.

Let's see, An American Special Ops Team goes into a city under the supervision of CIA station chiefs - kiddnaps a person and flys them to a third country in 2003, and now, years later, we see how a special investigation details how they accomplished this task, complete with hotel receipts, flight details and names and hometowns of the operatives - I think it is extremely informative.

If we could only apply the same investigative techniques to what happened at Dallas maybe we would learn something.

BK

Edited February 1, 2007 by William Kelly

[Myra Bronstein]

Interesting story but please explain the link to the JFK assassination.

Is this a serious question?

The CIA killed President Kennedy.

The CIA killed President Kennedy because they hated his humane foreign policy.

The CIA takes over foreign policy after they kill the President.

The CIA is shown to violate international law as part of their standard operating procedure.

The CIA is lawless and utterly concerned with human rights including the right not to be tortured, and even the right to live.

What do current and past CIA crimes have to do with the CIA murder of the US President?

Not many degrees of separation here. If one is inclined to see links.

[Len Colby]

Interesting story but please explain the link to the JFK assassination.

Is this a serious question?

The CIA killed President Kennedy.

The CIA killed President Kennedy because they hated his humane foreign policy.

The CIA takes over foreign policy after they kill the President.

The CIA is shown to violate international law as part of their standard operating procedure.

The CIA is lawless and utterly concerned with human rights including the right not to be tortured, and even the right to live.

What do current and past CIA crimes have to do with the CIA murder of the US President?

Not many degrees of separation here. If one is inclined to see links.

Leaving aside whether or not all you claim are true, by the same logic any story involving the CIA would have a place here? The connection is tenuous at best.

[Myra Bronstein]

Interesting story but please explain the link to the JFK assassination.

Is this a serious question?

The CIA killed President Kennedy.

The CIA killed President Kennedy because they hated his humane foreign policy.

The CIA takes over foreign policy after they kill the President.

The CIA is shown to violate international law as part of their standard operating procedure.

The CIA is lawless and utterly concerned with human rights including the right not to be tortured, and even the right to live.

What do current and past CIA crimes have to do with the CIA murder of the US President?

Not many degrees of separation here. If one is inclined to see links.

Leaving aside whether or not all you claim are true, by the same logic any story involving the CIA would have a place here? The connection is tenuous at best.

Well then your question was asked and answered and this thread can enter the category of "take it or leave it."

Read only the threads you're interested in.

There's a great quote in the uncivil civility discussion on member "behaviour" that will be my guiding light here...