CIA's European 'torture camps' under scrutiny

From online dispatches

This January 19, 2012 file photo reviewed by the US military shows the front gate of "Camp Six" detention facility of the Joint Detention Group at the US Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. AFP photo

The European Parliament (EP) has directed its gaze at the CIA's alleged detention centers and torture camps located in Europe, broadcaster NTV reported on its website today.
 
EU-member countries will be obligated to investigate all CIA facilities within their borders as the EP prepares to put together a report on the mysterious bases scattered around the continent. 
 
It was revealed in 2007 that the CIA had used certain air bases in Europe to transfer people it has accused of terrorism. It was claimed that the CIA used these air bases to abduct, detain and torture terror suspects outside of U.S. borders. 
 
The EP has organized meetings with NGOs and human rights institutions to gather information about EU-member governments for their alleged complicity with the CIA detentions.
 
“Nothing has been done in member states to truly investigate and get to the bottom of the problem," World Organization Against Torture Secretary General Gerald Staberock was quoted as saying in a report on Euronews.com. 
 
"There is an obligation not only not to torture or to be an accomplice in torture, but there is an obligation to investigate, to ensure accountability,” Staberock said. 
 
The CIA was revealed to have detention centers in Lithuania, Romania, Poland, Denmark, Finland and Britain. 
 
Many of the inquiries conducted in recent years by member states have been classified and their findings were not made available to the EP.
 
“Acknowledging the failures or difficulties members states have had in tackling the problem, the European Union should take this issue into its own hands so that finally, the information can become freely accessible,” Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur and EP member Hélène Flautre said.
 
The EP was set to send a delegation to Lithuania by the end of April before presenting a final report to the Civil Liberties Committee in July.