The Guardian is reporting on the accusation that the UK Government is trying to suppress mention of Diego Garcia, thus opening them up to liability, in a soon to be released US Senate report into CIA interrogations.
The Senate report on the CIA's interrogation programme, due to be released in days, will confirm that the US tortured terrorist suspects after 9/11. In advance of the release, Barack Obama admitted on Friday: "We tortured some folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values."
"We have made representations to seek assurances that ordinary procedures for clearance of UK material will be followed in the event that UK material provide[d] to the Senate committee were to be disclosed," Hague [former UK foreign secretary] wrote.
Cori Crider, a director at Reprieve, accused the UK government of seeking to redact embarrassing information: "This shows that the UK government is attempting to censor the US Senate's torture report. In plain English, it is a request to the US to keep Britain's role in rendition out of the public domain."
Confirmation that a British territory was involved in extraordinary rendition could leave the government vulnerable to legal action.
See our earlier coverage: Rendition Aircraft Detected by Enthusiasts.
Related Stories
Three members report a story about alleged CIA rendition flight intended to convey Snowden from Moscow to the US - but the interesting thing is how an aircraft that was avoiding any air traffic communication was detected by enthusiasts.
CIA rendition jet was waiting in Europe to snatch Snowden
The Register reports that the CIA sent a jet from Washington, DC to Europe in an attempt to bring brave patriot/cowardly traitor (depending on your point of view) Edward Snowden back to America from Moscow - a jet that is known to have previously been used in "rendition" missions. It seems that the jet never made it all the way to Moscow, since Russian authorities refused to detain Snowden. Read more at the Reg:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/13/cia_rendition_jet_was_waiting_in_europe_to_snatch_snowden/
Black ops flights not so secret after all
According to an article today in The Register, there was a CIA rendition jet waiting in Europe to snatch Snowden last year around this time.
N977GA was detected heading east over Scotland at the unusually high altitude of 45,000 feet. It had not filed a flight plan, and was flying above the level at which air traffic control reporting is mandatory.
This article is interesting despite its year-late reporting because the information was collected by a group of civilian "plane spotters". Using a technique called multilateration civilians with a radio receiver listening for plane transponders can track any flight in their air space by banding together and comparing their timestamps.
Several such online tracking networks are active in the UK, using this and other sources of information: they include www.flightradar24.com, www.planefinder.net, Planeplotter (www.coaa.co.uk/planeplotter.htm) and www.radarvirtuel.com. UK-based Planeplotter is one of the more sophisticated of these global "virtual radar" systems. It boasts 2,000 members with receivers hooked up to the internet.
Let's hear it for bored Brits and nerdy ingenuity!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 03 2014, @05:12PM
I'm sure the British are more civilized when they use enhanced interrogation techniques.
Unlike those filthy Americans.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 03 2014, @05:13PM
"Confirmation that a British territory was involved in extraordinary rendition could leave the government vulnerable to taking responsibility for its actions."
FTFY.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by frojack on Sunday August 03 2014, @08:07PM
The US base at Diego Garcia is on a long term lease, and probably doesn't even have a token British presence.
I don't see how anyone could worry about subjecting Britain to legal challenges.
Is any one pressing charges against Raul Castro for the events at Gitmo?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday August 03 2014, @09:55PM
I don't think they UK government is worried about legal issues. The court of world public opinion never worries about real law or jurisdictions. With the verifiable revelation that the UK government allowed, or even just knew about, people being transported through their airspace for the purpose of being tortured elsewhere the UK government looks even more like a lapdog for the USA
It might even be that Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, had a stop over in the UK on his way to Syria for "enhanced interrogation" on behalf of the USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Arar [wikipedia.org]
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday August 04 2014, @04:35AM
If they know or should have known what was happening there, they become an accomplice.
Castro is legally in the clear, he issued an eviction notice years ago which the U.S. has ignored.
(Score: 2) by mojo chan on Monday August 04 2014, @07:23AM
As long as it is British territory, leased or otherwise, European human rights apply and people tortured there can apply to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that the UK government assisted the US. The UK must stop torture on its territory if it knows or suspects it is happening, simple as that.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 2) by frojack on Monday August 04 2014, @07:39AM
if it knows
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by mojo chan on Monday August 04 2014, @08:08AM
There is plenty of evidence that it did know, and reports that the US was doing it were in the media at the time. At the very least the UK failed to investigate, but thanks to papers found in Libya we know that they actually sent people overseas to be tortured.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04 2014, @04:16AM
"We tortured some folks". Right. And after that, I went to do some groceries.
What the fuck is wrong with this guy?
Torture by itself is very, very, sick sociopathic behaviour.
Why, as a country, have values when breaking those doesn't result in any reprimande whatsoever?
Do some people actually believe tortured people give truthful confessions?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04 2014, @05:42AM
Some Nobel peace prize laureate! Obviously the values of a country are nothing but cheap PR activity in order to make the dumbest people of the said country feel morally superior and thus coax them easier to support the next war.
USA, the #1 global terrorist
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mtrycz on Monday August 04 2014, @10:10AM
You're missing the relevant part: "[...]We did some things that were contrary to our values."
Except they didn't. Torture is perfectly inline with their values, it's just not ok to say so, and lying is their profession, so...
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