Linked with Does one have to fight tyranny with the instruments of the tyrants?
Dick Marty is a member of the Council of States of the Swiss Federal Assembly and a member of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, where he is President of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. As special rapporteur for the Council of Europe he was asked to give a report on the alleged existence of CIA secret prisons in Europe. In 2007 he received the Swiss Award in the category of politics. On February 1st, 2007 he was invited to the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), where he gave a lecture entitled: « Research on Phantom Airplanes and Secret Detention Centres: Does one have to fight tyranny with the instruments of the tyrants »? (full long text, May 18, 2007).
Same text/same date on Global Research.ca.
CIA agents’ testimony to boost new report into secret renditions: Swiss Senator Dick Marty said yesterday that the latest volume of his report for the Council of Europe into the alleged secret transfer of terrorist suspects by the United States will include statements from disgruntled CIA agents. « They spoke to me because they found what was happening to be disgusting », Marty said in an interview with Swiss newspaper La Liberte. « Their statements will help to ‘strengthen the findings of the first report’ published on June 6, 2006, on the secret activities of the CIA in Europe », Marty said. The latest volume of his report will be presented to the Council of Europe on June 8 in Paris. (full text, May 5, 2007 AFP).
Dick Marty – Switzerland
An Opportunity Seized: In its zeal to please U.S., Romania tramples foreigners’ rights, by Paul Radu, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, May 24, 2007.
CIA secret rendition exposed, May 4, 2007.
Put the word GUANTANAMO in the search tool of YouTube and find more than 2000 shorter or longer Videos.
Read: Information Memorandum II, by Rapporteur Dick Marty, Switzerland, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
Listen to this Videos (all three in italian):
- Voli segreti CIA, il caso Al Kassim, 11 minutes;
- Voli CIA, Giornalisti nel Mirino, 10 minutes;
- Voli CIA, l’Europa indaga, 12 minutes.
Marty reported in June 2006 that 14 European countries had colluded with the US in a ‘spider’s web’ of human rights abuses. He said other countries, including Switzerland, had been involved actively or passively in the detention or transfer of unknown persons. (full text, May 23, 2007).
He says: ”The media usually calls me the « investigation agent » for the Council of Europe. In reality I was not and am still not a real investigator. An investigation agent has the chance to summon individuals, to seize documents and to arrest individuals. I had this authority during the fifteen years that I was prosecuting attorney, but am bitterly missing it in this case. I have hereupon decided to operate on the same level as those whom we suspect of maintaining the secret detention centres and therefore to try a kind of « intelligence service » activity. I hardly, however, had the resources. The secretary of the Commission’s office was indeed, at my disposal, but it was completely overloaded … (full text, May 18, 2007).
… Human Rights Watch published a report, in which similar information was brought to light and substantiated and where we learned that these secret detention centres were in Poland, Romania and other Eastern European countries. As we later learned, the sources for the Human Rights Watch came from, amongst others, the CIA themselves …
… Immediately after the details of the existence of secret detention centres in Europe were made known, the Council of Europe reacted: The Parliamentary Assembly requested that a report be made about these abductions, which if proven to be true, would obviously be in contradiction to the European Human Rights Laws …
… The first task that I had to tackle, was that of the abductions and the secret detention centres. It was some weeks later on November 25th, 2005, when in Bucharest the Parliamentary Assembly confirmed my mandate with which the Commission had entrusted me, that I first realized how much of a burden it would represent. The press conference, which announced my nomination as a reporter, almost finished in a riot because of the number of journalists present. It was there that the explosive nature of this affair first became clear to me and the fact that my mission had now begun. The media usually calls me the « investigation agent » for the Council of Europe. In reality I was not and am still not a real investigator. An investigation agent has the chance to summon individuals, to seize documents and to arrest individuals. I had this authority during the fifteen years that I was prosecuting attorney, but am bitterly missing it in this case. I have hereupon decided to operate on the same level as those whom we suspect of maintaining the secret detention centres and therefore to try a kind of « intelligence service » activity. I hardly, however, had the resources. The secretary of the Commission’s office was indeed, at my disposal, but it was completely overloaded. I finally obtained the support of a 28 year old Scot and together we contacted independent investigative journalists, NGO’s and different countries’ « intelligence services » specialists. Thus we began to investigate and put parts of the puzzle together … (full text).
Marty slams « injustice » of UN blacklists: Dick Marty has criticised the United Nations Security Council for blacklisting individuals suspected of having links to terrorism without evidence of any wrongdoing. (full text, April 26, 2007).
Dick Marty accused the US of violating human rights and attacked European nations for their « shocking » passivity in the face of such violations. He is due to give a preliminary report to the Council of Europe on 23 January. The US has refused to confirm or deny the allegations over secret prisons. It has denied using or condoning torture. (full text, 14 January 2006).
His homepage, in italian.
His bio:
on Swiss Parliament (in italian);
on wikipedia;
PACE-Ausschuss: USA spannen heimliches Netz aus Inhaftierungen und Gefangenentransporten, Mitgliedsländer des Europarates waren beteiligt.
links:
latest press releases of PACE (Parliament of Council of Europe),
parliament’s page,
Homepage;
… and a last Guantanamo-Video on YouTube.