Extraordinary rendition

Extraordinary rendition is when one country takes a person from another country and moves them to a third country. This practice became well known during the United States-led efforts after the events of September 11, 2001. It was used to avoid some laws in other countries about holding and questioning people.

The United States started using this method during the time President Bill Clinton was in office and continued under President George W. Bush. Later, under President Obama, some of these people were questioned and then brought to the United States for trials.

In 2014, a court in Europe said that Poland had helped the United States with these actions. The court said this was wrong because it went against rules about treating people properly. Poland was told to help the people who were hurt.

Background

By 2004, some people said that unfair treatment was used against captives with the agreement of the United States. The United States has rules against moving someone to a place where they might be treated unfairly. Between 2001 and 2005, American officers captured about one hundred fifty people and moved them to different countries around the world.

Later, leaders worked to stop these unfair treatments. In 2009, new leaders signed orders to oppose such treatments and created a group to suggest ways to prevent them in the future. They made sure that people moved to other countries would be treated fairly.

Definitions

Rendition in law means moving people from one place to another after following the rules. But "extraordinary rendition" is different—it happens when people are moved without following the rules, like kidnapping. When people talk about extraordinary rendition, they often mean catching someone first before moving them.

The Bush administration said they would not allow hurtful treatments, but sometimes people were still mistreated after being moved to other countries. Some believe that US groups knew about or even helped with these mistreatments. Moving someone to be mistreated breaks US rules. A lawyer named Marc D. Falkoff said that sending people to places where they might be mistreated was part of some plans. He talked about a secret note from Guantanamo that suggested sending a person to a place where they might be mistreated.

Historical instances

Historical cases

The American Civil Liberties Union says that leaders started using special ways to catch people they thought were terrorists during President Clinton's time. In the 1990s, workers tried to stop groups that did not follow the rules in the Middle East, especially Al Qaeda.

Both President Clinton and later President Bush used secret methods to catch people they thought were terrorists in other countries. After the 9/11 attacks, President Bush used these methods more often.

In the 1990s, American leaders talked to Egypt about catching people they thought were terrorists. They could find, catch, and move these people around the world. But some people said this was not right because it did not follow normal rules.

20th century

In 1995, President Clinton allowed special ways to bring people accused of crimes to the United States. The United States started using these special ways more in the "war on terror". This meant taking people to other countries without following the usual rules. Some people said this was wrong because it did not follow important rules about fairness.

21st century

After the 11 September 2001 attacks, the United States, especially workers from the CIA, was said to have taken many people they thought were terrorists to other countries. These people were kept where no one could check on them.

Reported methods

Media reports describe suspects being arrested and taken to places they could not see. They were moved by private planes to other countries, sometimes without the knowledge or approval of those countries. During these trips, people were often kept in uncomfortable positions and had to stay seated for long periods.

Boeing 737-700 of PETS in Frankfurt, Germany on 11 January 2003.

Further information: Rendition aircraft

On 4 October 2001, members of NATO agreed to allow United States and allied aircraft to fly over their lands for military operations against terrorism.

In 2006, reports said that a company named Jeppesen, which belongs to Boeing, helped plan trips for these special flights. Lawsuits were filed against Jeppesen, but these were stopped because officials said revealing details would expose important government secrets.

In 2005, reports revealed the existence of secret prisons, called “black sites,” operated by the CIA. These prisons were kept hidden, and their use was against international agreements meant to protect human rights. Some of these prisons were closed after the reports, and captives were moved to other places.

In Europe, investigations found that people were taken from European countries to places where they might have been treated badly. One well-known case involved a man taken from Milan in 2003. There were also claims that the United Kingdom may have broken international law by allowing these flights to land there.

There have also been claims that the United States used ships as prisons to hold people captured during the War on Terror. However, there is no strong evidence to support these claims.

Example cases

Khaled Masri case

Main article: Khaled El-Masri

Khaled El-Masri was a German citizen who was taken by mistake. The North Macedonian police gave him to the U.S. CIA. He was taken to Afghanistan and held for four months. The CIA later realized their mistake and let him go.

Abu Omar case

Main article: Abu Omar case

In 2003, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also called Abu Omar, was taken by the CIA in Milan, Italy. He was on his way to a mosque when he was taken. An airplane took him to Germany and then to Cairo. There, he was held and questioned.

Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmad case

Main article: Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmad

In 2005, lawyers for Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmad said that officials wanted to send him to another country. They thought they could get more information from him there.

Muhammad Bashmila case

Muhammad Bashmila was once held in secret. He told the BBC that he was moved from Afghanistan to a cold place. The food there seemed European. He thinks this place might have been in Eastern Europe, but this is not certain.

Maher Arar case

Main article: Maher Arar

Maher Arar was born in Syria but was also a citizen of Canada. In 2002, he was stopped at Kennedy International Airport. Instead of going home to Canada, he was sent to Syria. He was held and questioned there for ten months. He was let go after the Canadian government asked for his release. In 2007, Canada paid him money and said sorry for what happened.

Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.

Main article: Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.

Bohumil Laušman

Main article: Bohumil Laušman

Other cases

This is a short list of some stories about extraordinary rendition. Most of these stories cannot be proven true or false.

A news report from Pakistan said that in October 2001 a student from Karachi University was taken onto a private plane by security officers.
In October 2001, a man who had ties to Australia and Egypt was detained in Pakistan, questioned for three weeks, and then flown to Egypt. He was later taken to a US airbase in Afghanistan. He was released without charge in January 2005.
In late 2001 a man was freed by US forces from a prison in Afghanistan. He was taken to a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, where he was held behind bars. He was later sent to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In 2002, a captured leader was taken to Egypt where he was questioned.
Two Egyptians who had been seeking safety in Sweden were arrested by Swedish police in December 2001. They were taken to an airport and then flown to Egypt, where they were held.
In March 2002, an Italian citizen with Moroccan origins was arrested in Pakistan and questioned by Pakistani and US officials. He was then taken to Moroccan authorities, where he was held.
In 2003, an Algerian man was taken from Tanzania and taken to Afghanistan, where he was held. His capture happened because of a mistake in understanding a conversation he had.
A student from Ethiopia who lived in London was taken in Pakistan in April 2002. He was held in secret places, including in Morocco and Afghanistan.
On 13 December 2004, a man was captured in Venezuela by Colombian intelligence officials. He was taken to the Colombian city of Cúcuta, near the border with Venezuela.
On 5 April 2006, it was reported that three Yemeni citizens were being held somewhere in Eastern Europe.
On 21 February 2008, a British foreign leader said that two flights refuelled on an island in 2002, and said he was sorry for earlier wrong statements by British leaders.

Investigations

Investigations by multi-nation groups

Council of Europe investigation and its two reports

In November 2005, an investigator for the Council of Europe said he found places that might be secret prisons. He planned to study the area using satellite images. The European Union said any member country with a secret prison would lose voting rights. A report in June 2006 worried that European governments might have known about capturing people on European soil and moving them to other countries.

The report asked for several things, including:

A resolution on secret detentions and transfers.
A review of agreements with the United States.
Requests for official apologies and compensation for victims.
An international effort to address terrorism while respecting human rights.

Before the report, an EU coordinator said there was no proof of such activities in Europe. But later, the European Parliament found that European governments and intelligence services had worked with these programs.

27 June 2006 Council of Europe resolution

The Council of Europe accused the United States of running secret detentions and transfers. They asked for EU rules to govern foreign intelligence activities in Europe and for human rights protections in military base agreements with the United States.

The resolution also asked for:

The United States to end its system of detentions and transfers.
Reviews of agreements between European countries and the United States.
Official apologies and compensation for victims.
An international plan to fight terrorism while respecting human rights.

European Parliament's investigation and report

The European Parliament started its own investigation. In February 2007, members approved a report criticizing these activities. The report said many European countries allowed illegal activities by the United States, including secret flights over their lands. The report named several countries and called for the closure of a US detention camp and independent investigations into these flights.

The report also mentioned the use of secret detention facilities in Europe and called these activities illegal abductions and transfers to countries where people might be mistreated.

UN report by Manfred Nowak

A UN report said several countries were breaking international human rights laws by sending suspects to places where they might be mistreated.

Investigations by NGOs

World Policy Council report

A report criticized a government's policy, saying it hurt efforts to bring terrorists to justice and damaged the country's moral standing.

Investigations by national governments

France

French authorities started an investigation to check if a plane landed in France in 2005 was used to carry prisoners to a US detention camp. The investigation began after a complaint by human rights groups.

Germany

Reports said the CIA used a US military base in Germany to move suspects without telling the German government. In 2007, Germany charged 13 people with involvement in the mistaken capture and transfer of a German citizen.

Italy

In Italy, a cleric was captured and sent to Egypt, where he claimed to be mistreated. Italian authorities investigated and charged several US citizens and Italian officials. In 2009, a court found many of them guilty.

Ireland

Ireland faced pressure to check airplanes at an airport to see if they carried captives. Police were told not to search US planes suspected of these activities.

Kosovo

A human rights official described a detention center in Kosovo as similar to a well-known US detention camp.

Portugal

Portugal began investigating CIA flights after members of the European Parliament and a journalist raised concerns about possible mistreatments and human rights violations.

Romania

A European official asked Romania and Poland for explanations about accusations of secret detentions. Romania said no one was held illegally and no illegal transfers happened through its territory.

Spain

Spanish authorities began investigating landings of CIA planes in Spain, saying they happened without official permission.

Sweden

Sweden stopped CIA flights in 2006 after two men were captured, taken to Egypt, and mistreated. Sweden later paid one of the men for the abuse he suffered.

United Kingdom

After claims that British airports were used for these flights, an investigation found no evidence. However, another report said the UK had worked with these activities. In 2008, a UK official admitted that two flights had stopped in a UK territory in 2002.

"Erroneous rendition"

Some people were taken to other countries by mistake. They were thought to be involved in bad activities, but they were not.

One well-known example is a man named Khalid El-Masri. He was taken because someone thought he was someone else. Another person, Laid Saidi, was also taken by mistake when a word he said was misunderstood.

Officials looked into these mistakes to see how many people were affected. Some believe there were as many as thirty cases, while others think there were fewer. Experts say it is hard to know all the cases because the process was designed to avoid normal legal checks.

Obama Executive Order on rendition

Two days after President Barack Obama became president, on 22 January 2009, he signed an order called "Ensuring Lawful Interrogations." This order asked a special group to check if the rules for questioning people were fair and to make sure that when people are sent to other countries, it is done safely.

Later, a court decided that people who said they were mistreated in other countries could not sue the U.S. government. In 2010, reports said that President Obama made new rules to protect people sent abroad, but some groups thought these rules were not strong enough.

Other countries

CIA participating countries

A report by the Open Society Foundations showed that 54 countries helped with a special program run by the United States. These countries helped move people from one place to another, sometimes without following the usual rules.

Extraordinary rendition