Monday, October 24, 2005

Scotland : Police to Investigate US 'Torture flights'

SCOTTISH police are to launch an investigation into CIA “torture flights” which fly in and out of Glasgow and Prestwick airports, ferrying kidnapped war on terror suspects around the world.




The police action is a result of last week’s disturbing investigation by the Sunday Herald into the so-called “extraordinary rendition flights”, which see suspects kidnapped overseas by the CIA, drugged and then flown to “friendly” states, such as Egypt, Uzbekistan and Morocco, where they are tortured on behalf of British and American intelligence.

Following our reports , the Green Party wrote to the chief constable of Strathclyde Police, Sir William Rae, asking for a full inquiry into the torture flights. A police spokesperson confirmed that the force would now launch an investigation.

Last week, we revealed that the British government was to be sued by human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith for complicity in the torture of his client Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi.

Also exposed was the fact that international human rights experts and lawyers believe the UK is breaking the Geneva Conventions by collaborating with the USA on the transit of the flights through Britain.

Further, the UK allows British airports to be used for refuelling by the CIA’s jets ferrying suspects around the world. Glasgow and Prestwick airports are the two most favoured CIA stop-overs.

Chris Ballance, the Green Party MSP who represents the Prestwick area, said he lodged the complaint with Strathclyde Police after reading the Sunday Herald’s investigation because it appeared that “Scotland is complicit in these gross acts of torture”.

Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, said : “Once these planes land on British soil, they have no immunity. If they touch down at a civilian airport they are under civilian jurisdiction. This would allow the police to do their job fully and to board the plane and question those on board.”

4 Comments:

Blogger G_in_AL said...

Uh-Oh... lawyers are now going to get you guys too.....

Why dont the lawyers ever try to sue the country that does the "torturing?"

I mean, if you were captured for something, then expidited to another nation, and they torture you...

This is kind of like suing the insurance company of ther person who crashed into your car... because you know they dont have any money.

These guys know that the other countries will tell them to go pound sand, but in our sympathetic democracies, they will be given a huge cash award, and then the US an UK will look bad.

Notice the extreme lack of Muslim outrage at other Muslim nations tourturing... Muslims.

October 24, 2005 6:08 pm  
Blogger G_in_AL said...

btw H, My comments section is down, email me when you get a chance.

October 24, 2005 6:09 pm  
Blogger _H_ said...

there is a sentence i cut off the end of this article when posting that sums up the whole problem

the newspaper asked a senior CIA official about this and his response was to laugh

The bog standard 'civilian' scottish police force will get nothing but a brick wall to talk to on this

the UK government won't help them obviosly

the US government and CIA will shut up shop too

Its an interesting story this one G but thats all it will be ..

I doubt we will ever here the result of the enquiry , the police will be told to find something else to investigate

October 24, 2005 6:56 pm  
Blogger G_in_AL said...

I agree.

October 24, 2005 7:57 pm  

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