Human rights court examines CIA prison in Poland allegations
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
03.12.2013 09:43
The European Court of Human Rights will begin examining on Tuesday whether Poland allowed a CIA black site in the country during the years 2002 and 2003, where terrorist suspects were allegedly detained and tortured.
European Court of Human Rights: photo - echr.coe.int
Allegations of Poland's collusion with the CIA 'rendition' programme have been brought before the court by Palestinian Abu Zubaydah and Saudia Arabian national Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who claim they were tortured by CIA operatives at a site in north-east Poland.
Lawyers will argue that failed to uphold its commitments under the European Convention of Human Rights by allowing the secret detention centre to operate on its territory.
Leszek Miller and Aleksander Kwasniewski, leftist prime minister and president respectively at the time the alleged CIA prison was operating have consistently denied any knowledge of the 'black site'.
A ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on the case is not expected for several months.
In November, the UN Committee Against Torture criticised the “lengthy delays” in the five-year investigation by Poland into Warsaw’s alleged complicity in the US programme.
The committee said it was “also concerned about the secrecy surrounding the investigation and failure to ensure accountability in these cases." (pg)