BITN 934_16,17 (rendition) 29/6/12 10:47 Page 16

Some were grabbed off the streets, blindfolded and bundled into the back of a car. Others were detained at airports and taken away by force on small private jets, often to secret locations in countries known for . , a kind of state-sanctioned kidnapping that breaches international law, became a popular method used by US authorities to capture terror suspects in the years following the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. But only now are full details about the practice, and the many corporations that have profited from it, beginning to emerge. In recent weeks human rights group Reprieve has been publicising some of the companies that helped organise the renditions, most carried out under the authority of the George W Bush administration between 2001 Web of d and 2008. Among the firms are military contractors such as Virginia- based DynCorp, paid to organise the The practice of secretly flying terror missions were going on in 2005’. But logistics of rendition flights to places they can’t say that anymore.” like Thailand, Egypt, Syria and suspects to places they can be tortured New information about the scale of Morocco. But there are also less Britain’s role in rendition has also conspicuous firms that played a key has been a blot on the West’s human been revealed. In the wake of the role, some with strong UK civil war in Libya last year, connections. One is Computer rights record since it was unearthed documents were uncovered showing Sciences Corporation (CSC), an IT following 9/11. Now new revelations that in 2004 MI6 had helped US firm that has held contracts with the authorities abduct Libyan dissident NHS and Transport for London. about the organisations involved are Abdelhakim Belhadj and his “The role played by the prime pregnant wife in Bangkok, where contracting companies – DynCorp coming to light. By Ryan Gallagher they were flown to Tripoli and and CSC – was extremely abused by Muammar Gaddafi’s secret significant,” says Crofton Black, a police. Reprieve investigator. “They 2011, has a string of British investors, Belhadj is now suing MI6 and then basically ran a significant proportion including Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC foreign secretary Jack Straw, MP for of the entire project in terms of and Prudential. Blackburn, for complicity in torture helping move people around between Earlier this year, Reprieve wrote and misfeasance in public office. detention sites. The various operating and asked CSC to sign a pledge Government sources say MI6’s role in companies that provided the promising that it would not be rendition was part of “ministerially airplanes and crews are significant involved in rendition, secret authorised government policy” – but too, because it’s unlikely these guys detention and torture in the future. Straw has gone on record claiming didn’t know what was happening in The company declined, saying that that “no foreign secretary can know their planes.” individual pledges on specific topics all the details of what its intelligence According to Reprieve, court were “not within the framework” of agencies are doing at any one time”. documents show that CSC organised its existing corporate responsibility In other countries too the rendition flights on behalf of the US programme. Reprieve is now writing repercussions of extraordinary Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to to investors in the company asking rendition continue to be felt. In carry prisoners between a number of them to “confirm whether investing March, Poland became the first EU locations, including the notorious in companies implicated in torture is country to indict one of its officials Guantánamo Bay detention camp and compatible with their ethical over CIA renditions, with the secret “black sites” in North Africa, commitments”. country’s prime minister promising South East Asia and Eastern Europe. “CSC has explicitly refused to rule an end to “under-the-table deals”. It It is alleged that the prisoners were out taking on such missions in the is alleged that a military garrison in held incommunicado and tortured future,” Black says. “It’s fine for the the north east of Poland was used as during lengthy interrogations. CSC, investors to say, with the benefit of a CIA where terror suspects which turned over £10.2 billion in hindsight, that ‘we didn’t know such were interrogated and subjected to

16 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH · 2-8 JULY 2012 BITN 934_16,17 (rendition) 29/6/12 10:47 Page 17

RENDITION FLIGHTS

TORTURE BY PROXY Human rights groups say rendition is “torture by proxy” and argue transferring terror suspects to third-party countries known for brutal interrogation techniques is part of a deliberate strategy to avoid American legal standards. The practice is prohibited by the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the US in 1992. A public inquiry into British security forces’ role in the mistreatment of terrorism suspects since 9/11 – including involvement in extraordinary rendition – was announced by the government in 2010. However, due to ongoing police investigations it was cancelled in January this year. In a statement, the justice minister Ken Clarke said: “The government fully intends to hold an independent, judge-led inquiry once all police investigations have concluded, to establish the full facts and draw a line f deceit under these issues.”

waterboarding, a kind of torture that The rendition Lawful Interrogations” to increase people say drone attacks are Obama’s makes a person feel as if they are programme could oversight. But he didn’t outlaw preference because you just get rid of drowning. have involved extraordinary renditions. the people and you don’t have all the More revelations may soon emerge 6,500 flights, 140 Obama has also significantly messy stuff afterwards to deal with... as part of a major new academic aircraft and 45 heightened the use of unmanned It avoids the public outcry around effort to pull together all the countries military drones to bomb suspected rendition.” information that has so far published militants in places such as Pakistan London-based human rights group about extraordinary rendition. and Yemen. Some argue that, to Cage Prisoners, founded by Launched by University of Kent avoid using the costly and Birmingham-born Moazzam Begg, a academic Dr Ruth Blakeley last controversial rendition method, former Guantánamo detainee, month, the Rendition Project is Obama has favoured drone strikes – believes rendition is still happening studying reams of court documents killing rather than capturing. today but on a lesser scale. The and flight logs, collating data about “It’s expensive to detain people in group, which campaigns to raise hundreds of victims of rendition and prison,” Blakeley says. “A lot of awareness about individuals held secret detention since 2001. It hopes extra-judicially as part of the so- to chronicle the 45 countries, 6,500 called , argues public flights and 140 aircraft allegedly LIVERPOOL FC LINK inquiries into extraordinary rendition connected to the CIA renditions are the only way to redress the programme. A private jet owned by Phillip Morse, vice-president of Liverpool abuses of international law that “I don’t think the world is very FC’s parent company Fenway Sports Group, was hired to a firm became commonplace after 2001. well informed about the types of working for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) more than 55 “There’s no way that we can things that governments in the US times between 2002 and 2005. It was used to extraordinarily adequately compensate those who and UK do,” Blakeley says, render terrorism suspects from locations in Europe to countries had these things happen to them,” explaining her motivation for starting including Thailand, Malta, Egypt, Libya, Djibouti and Azerbaijan, says Asim Qureshi, executive the project. “On both sides of the where they were allegedly tortured during interrogation. director at Cage Prisoners. “In the pond current governments don’t In 2003, Morse’s jet was used to render a Muslim cleric known grand scheme of things, for those really want to carry out as Abu Omar from Italy to Egypt. Omar, who American authorities people inquiries mean nothing, investigations [into rendition] accused of plotting terrorism, was snatched by CIA agents on a because they’ve already had their because their own records are not Milan street in broad daylight. He was subsequently flown to lives ruined by renditions. that squeaky clear either.” Egypt and imprisoned in Tura, 20 miles south of Cairo, where he “But for the future they become Prior to coming in to office in 2008, claims he was twice raped, suffered electro shock treatment and important, because this is effectively US president Barack Obama lost the hearing in his left ear due to repeated beatings. Omar the way the human rights industry condemned many of his was eventually released by the Egyptian government in 2007, can fight back – by bringing these predecessor’s more aggressive after a state security court ruled that his detention was legal cases, by having the process of counter-terror policies. He barred “unfounded”. An Italian judge later convicted, in absentia, 23 CIA accountability, and by really placing waterboarding and signed an operatives over the kidnapping. the emphasis back on due process executive order entitled “Ensuring and the rule of law.”

2-8 JULY 2012 · THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH 17