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