Germany issues arrest warrants for suspected CIA agents
Associated Press
Wednesday January 31, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
German prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA agents over their alleged kidnapping three years ago of a German citizen, authorities said today.
The unidentified agents are being sought on suspicion of the wrongful imprisonment of Khaled al-Masri and of causing him serious bodily harm, said Munich prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld. He said the warrants were issued in the last few days.
Mr al-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, says he was abducted in December 2003 at the Serbian-Macedonian border and flown by the CIA to a detention centre in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was abused.
He says he was released in Albania in May 2004 after the CIA discovered they had the wrong person.
Human rights campaigners have used Mr al-Masri's story to press the US to stop flying terrorism suspects to countries other than the US where they could face abuse - a practice known as "extraordinary rendition". Italy has issued arrest warrants for alleged CIA agents in a separate case.
Article continues
The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and other US officials have not yet commented on the case. However, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said the US has acknowledged making a mistake with Mr al-Masri.
The German government refused to comment on the arrest warrants, citing the ongoing judicial proceedings.
The CIA also declined to comment.
Germany's NDR television released a list of the names of the suspected agents - 11 men and two women - it said its reporters had obtained. It said three had been contacted by its reporters and had refused to comment.
Though the prosecutors' office refused to confirm the names, Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said, "the personal details contained in the arrest warrants are, according to our current knowledge, aliases of CIA agents".
"Further investigation will, among other things, concentrate on trying to determine the clear identities of the suspects," he said in a statement. Mr al-Masri's attorney, Manfred Gnjidic, said the issuance of the arrest warrants were "a very important step in the rehabilitation of al-Masri". "It shows us that we were right in putting our trust in the German authorities and the German prosecutors," he said at a news conference.
Prosecutors were led to the suspects after receiving a list in December 2005 of possible people involved in the kidnapping. The list was compiled by a Spanish journalist from sources within Spain's civil guard, a paramilitary police unit that answers to the interior ministry, Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said.
With help from Spanish authorities, they were then able to pursue an investigation against "concrete persons," Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said. Tips were also received from others, including the Milan prosecutor's office and Dick Marty, a Swiss senator who led an inquiry into CIA renditions on behalf of the Council of Europe. Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld did not elaborate on what the tips were.
The CIA agents are suspected to have flown in January 2004 aboard a Boeing 737 from the Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca to pick up Mr al-Masri after he had been detained by Macedonian authorities, Munich prosecutor August Stern said. ARD public television has reported that investigators worked from passport photocopies made by a hotel where the suspects stayed, but Mr Stern said he could not confirm that or other details. The report last year gave what it said were the cover names of three men who were pilots and lived in the US state of North Carolina.
In October, Munich prosecutors said that, based on the list, they were seeking to ban several CIA agents suspected of kidnapping Mr al-Masri from entering German territory. They did not give any further details.
In a separate case, Italian authorities are seeking the arrest of 26 Americans, all but one believed to be CIA agents, in connection with the 2003 kidnapping in Milan of Egyptian cleric and terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr.
The al-Masri case has been a sore point in otherwise good German-US relations.
The US justice department has declined to provide Munich prosecutors assistance, citing ongoing legal proceedings in the US.
Mr al-Masri has asked a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, to reinstate a lawsuit he filed against the CIA. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in May, ruling that a trial could harm national security by revealing details about CIA activities.
Associated Press
Wednesday January 31, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
German prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA agents over their alleged kidnapping three years ago of a German citizen, authorities said today.
The unidentified agents are being sought on suspicion of the wrongful imprisonment of Khaled al-Masri and of causing him serious bodily harm, said Munich prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld. He said the warrants were issued in the last few days.
Mr al-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, says he was abducted in December 2003 at the Serbian-Macedonian border and flown by the CIA to a detention centre in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was abused.
He says he was released in Albania in May 2004 after the CIA discovered they had the wrong person.
Human rights campaigners have used Mr al-Masri's story to press the US to stop flying terrorism suspects to countries other than the US where they could face abuse - a practice known as "extraordinary rendition". Italy has issued arrest warrants for alleged CIA agents in a separate case.
Article continues
The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and other US officials have not yet commented on the case. However, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has said the US has acknowledged making a mistake with Mr al-Masri.
The German government refused to comment on the arrest warrants, citing the ongoing judicial proceedings.
The CIA also declined to comment.
Germany's NDR television released a list of the names of the suspected agents - 11 men and two women - it said its reporters had obtained. It said three had been contacted by its reporters and had refused to comment.
Though the prosecutors' office refused to confirm the names, Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said, "the personal details contained in the arrest warrants are, according to our current knowledge, aliases of CIA agents".
"Further investigation will, among other things, concentrate on trying to determine the clear identities of the suspects," he said in a statement. Mr al-Masri's attorney, Manfred Gnjidic, said the issuance of the arrest warrants were "a very important step in the rehabilitation of al-Masri". "It shows us that we were right in putting our trust in the German authorities and the German prosecutors," he said at a news conference.
Prosecutors were led to the suspects after receiving a list in December 2005 of possible people involved in the kidnapping. The list was compiled by a Spanish journalist from sources within Spain's civil guard, a paramilitary police unit that answers to the interior ministry, Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said.
With help from Spanish authorities, they were then able to pursue an investigation against "concrete persons," Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld said. Tips were also received from others, including the Milan prosecutor's office and Dick Marty, a Swiss senator who led an inquiry into CIA renditions on behalf of the Council of Europe. Mr Schmidt-Sommerfeld did not elaborate on what the tips were.
The CIA agents are suspected to have flown in January 2004 aboard a Boeing 737 from the Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca to pick up Mr al-Masri after he had been detained by Macedonian authorities, Munich prosecutor August Stern said. ARD public television has reported that investigators worked from passport photocopies made by a hotel where the suspects stayed, but Mr Stern said he could not confirm that or other details. The report last year gave what it said were the cover names of three men who were pilots and lived in the US state of North Carolina.
In October, Munich prosecutors said that, based on the list, they were seeking to ban several CIA agents suspected of kidnapping Mr al-Masri from entering German territory. They did not give any further details.
In a separate case, Italian authorities are seeking the arrest of 26 Americans, all but one believed to be CIA agents, in connection with the 2003 kidnapping in Milan of Egyptian cleric and terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr.
The al-Masri case has been a sore point in otherwise good German-US relations.
The US justice department has declined to provide Munich prosecutors assistance, citing ongoing legal proceedings in the US.
Mr al-Masri has asked a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, to reinstate a lawsuit he filed against the CIA. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in May, ruling that a trial could harm national security by revealing details about CIA activities.
posted by judy j at
1:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home