What Do Iran, Belgium, and Thailand Have in Common? Complicity in CIA Torture
The Open Society Justice Initiative has released a report on the CIA's extraordinary rendition and secret detention programs. The report lists 54 countries that participated in the operations. Involvement included helping capture suspected terrorists, hosting CIA prisons, actually "interrogating" suspects themselves, and allowing flights used for extraordinary rendition to pass through their airspace.
At the beginning of his first term President Obama signed an executive order that some thought put an end to the American use of torture. However, as the press release from the Open Society Justice Initiative Points out, this is not the case:
The Obama administration has not definitively repudiated extraordinary rendition. In 2009, President Obama issued an executive order disavowing torture and closing secret CIA detention sites, but the order was reportedly crafted to allow short-term, transitory detention prior to transferring detainees to countries for interrogation or trial. Current policies and practices with respect to extraordinary rendition remain secret.
Some of the countries listed by the report such as Iran, Zimbabwe, Syria, and Saudi Arabia are known for their own human rights abuses and helped "interrogate", detain, or transfer suspects directly or indirectly to the CIA. Others on the list such as Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, and Ireland were complicit in allowing subjects of extraordinary rendition to pass through their air space.
John Brennan, Obama's CIA director nominee, will be taking questions from Senators during his confirmation hearings on Thursday. Brennan has already refused to review or discuss a report from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program. Brennan did promise Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) that he would review the report before his hearing. Unfortunately, whether he answers questions on the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program or not will have little impact on his chance of being confirmed as the next director of the CIA.
Read the list of countries implicated in the Open Society Justice Initiative report below the jump.
1. Afghanistan
2. Albania
3. Algeria
4. Australia
5. Austria
6. Azerbaijan
7. Belgium
8. Bosnia-Heregovina
9. Canada
10. Croatia
11. Cyprus
12. Czech Republic
13. Denmark
14. Djibouti
15. Egypt
16. Ethiopia
17. Finland
18. Republic of the Gambia
19. Georgia
20. Germany
21. Greece
22. Hong Kong
23. Iceland
24. Indonesia
25. Iran
26. Ireland
27. Italy
28. Jordan
29. Kenya
30. Libya
31. Lithuania
32. Macedonia
33. Malawi
34. Malaysia
35. Mauritania
36. Morocco
37. Pakistan
38. Poland
39. Portugal
40. Romania
41. Saudi Arabia
42. Somalia
43. South Africa
44. Spain
45. Sri Lanka
46. Sweden
47. Syria
48. Thailand
49. Turkey
50. United Arab Emirates
51. United Kingdom
52. Uzbekistan
53. Yemen
54. Zimbabwe