In Spain, police have identified as many as 42 CIA operatives - investigations underway all over Europe
In Spain, police have identified as many as 42 CIA operatives suspected of having taken part extraordinary rendition flights of kidnapped terror suspects to interrogation centers in Afghanistan, Egypt, and other countries with relaxed torture laws. The Spanish are investigating because a dozen such flights stopped over in Mallorca on their way to their final destination. Prosecutors in Munich have asked Spanish police for a copy of their findings as part of Germany's investigation into the kidnapping of a German citizen who was tortured and beaten for six months before his abductors realized he had no connection to terrorism. Some of the CIA operatives identified by the Spanish police are reportedly among the more than 20 agents who have been indicted by Italian prosecutors on similar charges. Italian prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the CIA agents and have asked the Italian Justice Ministry to demand the agents' extradition from the U.S. The governments of Sweden and Norway are conducting their own investigations into CIA torture flights using their airfields. Switzerland is investigating whether the United States violated Swiss sovereignty and international law by routing CIA flights through Geneva. The EU has also requested that its Satellite Tracking Center turn over imagery of alleged CIA black sites in Romania and Poland. Moreover, the EU's executive body has directed its head of the Department of Justice, Freedom and Security, to demand answers from the Bush administration regarding the secret prisons.
European political insiders believe that in all likelihood, the United States in general, and the Bush administration in particular, will simply dismiss the various European investigations as politically motivated. Alternatively, the U.S. will ignore the investigations outright.
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