Question to the Commission by the ALDE group
AUTHOR(S): Ignasi GUARDANS, Sarah LUDFORD, Sophie IN'T VELD, Marco CAPPATO on behalf of the ALDE group
SUBJECT: Alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners
TEXT: Considering the report of 09/08, drafted by the Spanish Ministry of Defence and revealing that at least one USA military flight transporting illegal prisoners overflew Spain after a stopover in Portugal on 30/09/05; and the report by Amnesty International published in 10/08 revealing that at least 90 flights linked to the CIA made stopovers in Spain between 2002 and 2007 and that about 200 people were taken to Guantanamo on flights that took off from US military bases in/overflew Spain; and the Spanish secret document published by El País in 11/08 revealing that the government of Aznar expressely authorized a US request regarding flights over Spain carrying prisoners from Afghanistan to Guantánamo,
Taking into consideration that in August 2008, Polish media reported that a note prepared by military intelligence, confirming the existence of a secret CIA facility, had been seen by government officials in 2006,
Taking into consideration that President Barroso publicly said that he "did not authorize and was not even aware of any secret CIA flights through Portugal when he was prime minister" but that official military data from the Pentagon demonstrate that military flights transporting illegal prisoners (including prisoners whose charges were recently dropped by the Pentagon) did stopover and/or overflew Portugal when Mr. Barroso was Prime Minister,
Taking into consideration the statements by the Portuguese Foreign Minister Luís Amado on 7/10/08 explaining that "it would have been totally irresponsible for the current Portuguese executive to have raised that matter, which put in question the president of the EC, Durão Barroso, who was at the time of the facts Portuguese prime minister",
Will the Commission take any measures regarding these new elements to assert the responsibility of the countries involved and to verify if other Member States also received similar requests?
Does the Commission agree that there is now enough evidence to acknowledge that, even if Member States cooperated in the USA "extraordinary renditions" programme without being aware of its full extent, they should assume their share of responsibility for that cooperation? And does the Commission agree that Members States should offer political asylum to the prisoners who are still detained in Guantánamo but who have not been charged and whom the USA cannot repatriate to their countries of origin?
Date: 3/12/2008
[Le Groupe du l'Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe se compose actuellement de 100 députés européens issus de 22 pays de l'Union. Il est emmené par Graham Watson, un libéral démocrate britannique.]
