Scottish Involvement in Extraordinary Rendition

1 Executive Summary

Reprieve welcomes the Scottish parliament’s decision to fully investigate the alleged use of Scottish airports to support the CIA’s illegal programme of enforced disappearance, illegal transfer and torture of prisoners in the ‘war on terror.’ [1]

Transfers to torture deprive the individual of their most basic human rights and subject them to the cruellest abuse. Many victims of rendition have simply disappeared, as documented by a recent report (‘Off the Record’) by Reprieve and five other major human rights groups. [2] Scotland’s role in the global renditions network amounts to collusion in forcible transfer to torture. Serious questions must be asked as to how this was allowed to happen in Scotland’s name, and steps taken to ensure that it never happens again.

Reprieve has compiled evidence showing that Glasgow Prestwick Airport functioned as a crucial ‘staging point’ in renditions’ circuits [3] where planes stopped to refuel en route to and from the United States and the various nations hosting secret prisons, and handing suspects to the CIA. These rendition missions simply could not have taken place had these planes not been granted refuelling rights in cooperating territories such as Scotland. This raises serious issues of criminal complicity in these acts by those who knew, or should have known, of the significance of these notorious jets refuelling on Scottish soil.

Compelling evidence revealed by Reprieve suggests that Scottish airports have been widely used by known CIA jets as integral refuelling bases for rendition planes, directly resulting in numerous known cases of kidnapping and torture discussed above. [4] Transits through Scottish territory have apparently airlifted abusers to Amman and supported inhuman interrogations in black sites in ‘New’ Europe. Scottish refuelling rights have enabled the Americans to kidnap, torture, and indefinitely detain at least six known individuals, including Egyptian nationals Ahmed Agiza and Mohamed Al Zeri (seized in Sweden in December 2001) and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (captured in Pakistan on 1 March 2003).

Between 2001-2005, 24 of these CIA jets which have been widely associated with renditions, such as the infamous ‘Guantanamo Bay Express,’ have stopped on Scottish soil a total of at least 107 times on their way to or returning from missions that have likely involved illegal activities, including kidnapping and torture (see Appendix 1). CIA planes, refuelled at Scottish airports en route to or from known destinations for extraordinary rendition and torture, visiting for example: Azerbaijan (15 times); Jordan (39 times); Uzbekistan (15 times); Oman (14 times); Egypt (27 times); Poland (6 times); Romania (7 times). (See Appendix 2)

Reprievealsopresents clear evidence of systematic deception and cover-up by filing false flight plans, by private companies in league with the CIA, and national aviation authorities host states. In the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Scottish aviation personnel appear to have been deliberately misled by the Polish aviation authorities and a company employed by the CIA with an office in Crawley, England. In this case, false flight plans were filed when the plane left Poland for Glasgow stating that the plane had come from Prague when in fact it had come from dropping off Khalid Sheikh Mohammed at an airport servicing a secret prison in Poland.

Recommendations

Reprieve calls on the Scottish Authorities to:

In accordance with Scotland’s positive obligation to investigate credible allegations of collusion in torture under the Convention Against Torture (Art 4), the Scottish authorities should launch a full, frank and open investigation into all aspects of Scottish involvement in the U.S. High Value Detainee (HVD) programme.

The Scottish authorities must compel the Westminster government to reveal all information pertaining to any discussions or agreements with any other state or non-state party, and policy decisions, made on behalf of Scotland in relation to the operation of the «High Value Detainee (HVD) programme. Demand full, frank and public disclosure from the Westminster government, aviation, and any other relevant authorities as to any agreements made with any other government, authority or organisation, regarding the obfuscation of information relating to any flights transiting Scottish territory or airspace.

The Scottish authorities must compel the Westminster government to reveal what guarantees were sought from the US or other relevant authorities with respect to the above.

The Scottish authorities must fully examine gaps in the powers of the Scottish executive and police that allowed such acts to have been committed on Scottish territory apparently without consultation, and now without investigation, of and by the Scottish authorities.

The Scottish authorities must act to ensure the crimes are fully investigated and redressed, and adequate steps taken to prevent Scotland’s participation in such acts in the future. Such an investigation must include:

The urgent obtaining of full passenger manifests of all stops in Scotland of all planes believed to have been involved in the CIA rendition programme.

The urgent obtaining of all true and accurate flight records for CIA flights transiting Scotttish territory and airspace.

Source : Reprieve

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Scottish Involvement in Extraordinary Rendition