Attacking the ”outsourcing of human rights violations” in the name of the so called ’war on terror’, today in the European Parliament, German GUE/NGL MEP Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann lashed out at EU governments for simply ”looking the other way while the CIA was committing systematic human rights abuses on their territory”.
”The evidence unearthed by our investigatory committee and that of the Council of Europe show that CIA agents were given free reign to do what they wanted. Now the Council must act according to the principles set out by itself, security must be based on our core values.”
Kaufmann went on to highlight the continued rendition of people to and from Guantanamo bay and criticised the lack of action from the German government on the issue.
”People are being transferred to torture regimes, because the US does not want to get its hands dirty. Meanwhile, the German government has completely bowed down to US authorities and has failed to show respect for the values it says it supports.”
”It has been clearly established and proven that extraordinary renditions have taken place, with torture and maltreatment. What is not clear is why the Council remain silent on this issue” Italian MEP Giusto Catania stated in the same debate.
”National governments continue to organize renditions in collaboration with the USA. My own Government has classified the case of Abu Omar* as a ”state secret”. This clearly means that something not in line with the law is afoot” he said.
Jens Holm (GUE/NGL Sweden) pointed out that over one thousand cases of illegal activities and torture by the CIA had been exposed by various investigations and called on the Council to demonstrate its support for human rights in the world, to affirm that ”the struggle against terrorism must never be fought unlawfully.”
*In 2003 Abu Omar was kidnapped by the CIA in Milan. He was secretly detained and then transported to Egypt where he was tortured.