EU Wants Details On CIA Prisons

Investigator Seeks Satellite Images Of Sites In Romania And Poland

(CBS/AP) 
In a report presented in Paris Tuesday to the legal affairs committee of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly, Marty says other airports that might have been used by CIA aircraft in some capacity are in Palma de Mallorca, Larnaca in Cyprus and Shannon in Ireland, said Marty's report, which was obtained by The AP.

Marty's report — a copy of which was obtained by The AP — says the aircraft are "alleged to belong to entities with direct or indirect links to the CIA. It is claimed these were used by the CIA to transport prisoners." He said he asked the Brussels-based Eurocontrol air safety organization to provide details of 31 suspect planes which flew through Europe, in accordance with a list given to him by Human Rights Watch.

Member states send Eurocontrol — also known as the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation — flight logs of both civilian and military flights, but these are not published.

Marty also said he had asked the European Union's Satellite Center in Spain to look up and hand over satellite images of suspect sites in Romania and Poland.

"When we talk about 'prisons,' they don't necessarily have to be for many people, they could be cells for a very small group of people, one or two," said Marty.

Marty said he was planning to ask authorities in the Council of Europe's member states whether they have been contacted in order to "authorize secret detention in one form or another."

He also said he intended to ask Sen. John Kerry to share any information the Senate may get from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on the possible existence of secret detention facilities outside the United States.

On Tuesday, several EU countries, including Britain, the Netherlands and Finland, have agreed to write to the United States on behalf of the European Union requesting clarification of reports of secret CIA prisons in Europe.

Marty said the probe was not meant to spark anti-American feelings or question the United States' fight against terrorism.

"This is absolutely not a crusade against America. I think all Europeans agree with Americans that we must fight terrorism," he said. "We do not want to weaken the fight against terrorism ... but this fight has to be fought by legal means. Wrongdoing only gives ammunition to both the terrorists and their sympathizers."

The Council of Europe is the guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights, a legally binding human rights treaty signed by all 46 Council members. The Council itself has no direct jurisdiction over any country, but can exercise political pressure. Membership in the organization is considered prestigious for European countries as it attests to their attachment to Europe's human rights principles.