Home>News Center>World
         
 

Europe avoids pressing US on "secret prisons"
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-18 09:14

European governments have avoided pressing Washington to address allegations it runs secret prisons in the region despite growing public concern over U.S. detainee policies, diplomats said on Thursday.

In the face of persistent media questions, the Bush administration has refused to confirm or deny newspaper reports and rights groups' accusations this month it has kept Islamic militants incommunicado in Europe.

European media have increasingly delved in recent weeks into CIA flights suspected of transferring "ghost detainees" around the continent and some countries have begun looking into the movements.

But, apart from hand-wringing by some officials, governments have largely remained quiet on the allegations of secret prisons and the European Union has refused to heed rights groups' calls for investigations.

"It's not jeopardizing our relationships or, I think, negatively impacting the broad range of our cooperation," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.

When they have raised the allegations with U.S. diplomats, governments have done so only as part of wide-ranging discussions and avoided probing too deeply, U.S. and European diplomats said.

"They don't want to find the answers to these questions," said Tom Malinowski, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.

"It would mean digging into relations between intelligence agencies that few European governments want to reveal. And it could mean awkward disputes with whichever countries hosted these prisons -- and with the United States."

The Washington Post said U.S. secret prisons were in Eastern Europe but decided against identifying the countries at the CIA's request. Malinowski's New York-based group has said flight records point to Poland and Romania as likely hosts.

Rights groups say incommunicado detention is illegal and often leads to torture.

MORAL LEADERSHIP?

The muted official response is in contrast to the public outrage in many European nations that began with opposition to the war in Iraq and has been stoked by abuse scandals there and at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Citing an example of one discussion, Ereli said Spanish officials mentioned media reports about CIA flights on their territory in only a "general and brief" way when Daniel Fried, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, visited this week.

On his European tour, Fried acknowledged the public debate over U.S. detainee policies, but told reporters, "I have not heard a great deal from my European colleagues."

A U.S. official familiar with some of the bilateral conversations complained that in countries such as Italy and Spain, some complaints were driven by local politics.

"There's some grandstanding going on and what they say in public is quite different to what we hear in private," said the official, who asked not to be identified because his remarks were critical of foreign authorities.

European governments generally look for the United States to show moral leadership and have expressed discomfort with U.S. detainee policies that undermine the West's drive for greater freedoms worldwide.

But European diplomats in Washington said their governments could not easily raise the secret prisons allegations because they had no substance to base any concerns on and risked irking the Bush administration.

One diplomat, who asked not to be identified because the remarks concerned private meetings, said: "You have to bring it up because of the noise back home. But you do so in as low-key way as possible."



US Vice President attacks Iraq war critics
Shalom, Abbas meet at Tunis technology summit
Bolivian election
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

WHO: China containment measures 'almost textbook'

 

   
 

Hu: China will contribute to global peace

 

   
 

Japan struggles to rid China of WWII weapons

 

   
 

China: Bush visit helpful to relations

 

   
 

Early detection of human cases vital

 

   
 

A record 25 giant pandas born this year

 

   
  US House Democrat wants immediate Iraq pullout
   
  Iraqi minister: Torture claims exaggerated
   
  Three al-Qaida suspects killed in Afghanistan
   
  Cheney latest to lash out at critics
   
  Bush, South Korea's Roh united on nukes
   
  Sri Lankans head to polls for new president
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Concern widens in Europe over CIA prisoner flights
   
CIA moves toward probe of prisons story
   
U.S. tightens Afghan prison security
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美日韩国产综合在线小说| 韩国电影吃奶喷奶水的电影| 婷婷综合激情网| 哦好大好涨拨出来bl| 精品丝袜国产自在线拍亚洲| 国精产品自偷自偷综合下载| 一本之道在线视频| 成年免费视频黄网站在线观看| 久久成人国产精品一区二区| 欧洲肉欲K8播放毛片| 午夜人屠h精品全集| 青草娱乐极品免费视频| 国产欧美精品一区二区三区四区| 一本色道无码不卡在线观看| 日本人六九视频jⅰzzz| 五月天婷婷精品免费视频| 欧美性xxxx极品高清| 亚洲热线99精品视频| 狠狠做五月深爱婷婷天天综合| 农村妇女色又黄一级毛片不卡| 老熟女五十路乱子交尾中出一区| 国产又大又硬又粗| 国产人成精品香港三级在| 国产精品三级av及在线观看| 一本一本久久a久久综合精品 | 最近高清日本免费| 儿子女朋友爸爸的朋友| 精品水蜜桃久久久久久久| 国产一级毛片视频在线!| av在线亚洲男人的天堂| 色偷偷的xxxx8888| 国产真实乱16部种子| 在线日本妇人成熟| 国产精品日日爱| 6080私人午夜性爽快影院| 国产青草视频在线观看| 中文www新版资源在线| 无码人妻一区二区三区av | 国产成人无码区免费内射一片色欲 | 撞击着云韵的肉臀| 为什么高圆圆被称为炮架|