Official statements on the subject of secret CIA prisons in Romania

Romanian foreign officials say there is no evidence to suggest the existence of secret CIA prisons in Romania.

Mihai Pelin, 17.12.2014, 13:46

CIA used “brutal” and in most cases “inefficient” methods to interrogate terrorism suspects, constantly misleading the US president’s office and Congress as to the information obtained, concludes a report on CIA interrogation tactics used in secret prisons in Europe and Asia made public by the US Senate last week.

The public version of the report has been redacted to eliminate information such as the names of the countries hosting CIA secret prisons, writes The Washington Post, while noting that certain details in the report allow, however, for these locations to be decoded. The paper writes that Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Afghanistan and Thailand appear on a list of countries used by the CIA to interrogate terrorism suspects between 2002 and 2009. Moreover, many of these suspects, who are now in Guantanamo, say they were interrogated in Romania, and one of them even filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.

Bucharest was quick to respond to allegations. Its foreign ministry says the CIA report makes no mention of Romania, while the Romanian authorities hold no evidence suggesting that CIA detention centres existed in this country or that Romanian airports were used to transport or detain prisoners suspected of terrorism. Also, there is no proof that foreign officials or agencies were involved in activities related to the deprivation of liberty or the illegal transport of detainees. The foreign ministry in Bucharest says Romania, as a member of the European Union and NATO, firmly rejects such tactics, regardless of the circumstances.

The ministry also recalls that efforts were made to verify such information when a parliamentary committee was created in 2005. Approved by the Senate in 2008, the conclusions of this inquiry showed that no evidence was found regarding the existence of US secret bases, detention centre or unauthorised CIA flights for the transport or detention of prisoners suspected of acts of terrorism.

To eliminate suspicions about Romania’s involvement, the authorities also started a criminal investigation that is still under way. Romania’s strategic partnership with the United States has been and remains very strong, while collaboration with Washington as part of anti-terrorist activities is based on solid grounds, common goals and compliance with international law in an effort to find a quick response to emerging threats, concludes the Romanian foreign ministry release.