More Important than Human Rights
BERLIN/TRIPOLI (Own report) - Ten years after the 9/11 terror attacks, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe is demanding clarification of the involvement of German authorities in crimes committed in the framework of the so-called "war on terror" and their cover-up. "Systematic violations of human rights" were committed, as the CIA abducted suspects and subsequently interrogated them under torture, Thomas Hammarberg recalls. Governments "across the European continent" were involved in these operations as well as in the attempts to keep them covered-up - notably also Berlin. It has recently become known that Libya had also participated in theses abduction operations. For decades, Tripoli has been a cooperation partner of German repressive authorities and has been called upon for interrogations of prisoners under torture. Some of these prisoners had cooperated with western secret services, including the BND, in the 1980s in Afghanistan fighting against the Soviet army. Today, the West is again using these former partners of the Afghanistan conflict, as ground troops in its war against Moammar al Gadhafi. Over the past decade, the West had handed these former partners over to the Libyan government to be tortured.
A Clear Message
On the occasion of the 9/11 10th anniversary this coming Sunday, Thomas Hammarberg, Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, is calling for an end to the official information boycott concerning the human rights violations within the framework of the so-called war on terror. Hammarberg recalled that, since 2001, the CIA has organized the systematic abduction of suspects to torture chambers, constituting "systematic violations of human rights."[1] Hammarberg explains "governments across the European continent have acted in line with the wishes of the US to prevent proper investigations." Throughout Europe, notably in Germany, says Hammarberg, "concealment and cover-ups have been more characteristic responses." "The message is clear," criticized Hammarberg, "good relations between the security agencies are deemed more important than preventing torture and other serious human rights violations."[2]
The Bigger Damage
Indeed, even the CIA's cases of abduction and torture of German citizens have still to be clarified. Among the victims are Mohammed Haydar Zammar, who, in late 2001 - with the knowledge of the German authorities - was at first imprisoned in Morroco and then transferred to Syria, where he was not only tortured, but was even interrogated by German officials. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[3]) Zammar was sentenced, in early 2007, to twelve years by the Supreme State Security Court in Damascus, for his alleged membership in the illegal Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood currently supports the Syrian opposition, with which Berlin is also sympathizing. German government officials have also never sought to clarify the cases of the German victims Khaled el Masri,[4] Murat Kurnaz,[5] and Abdel Halim Khafagy [6]. "The full truth" must now be established, demands Human Rights Commissioner Hammarberg, and "guarantees" given that "such forms of cooperation" will never be repeated. The "purported cost to transatlantic relations" of pursuing the accountability for crimes of torture "cannot be compared to the damage inflicted on our European system of human rights protection by allowing ourselves to be kept in the dark."[7]
Interrogations in Tripoli
As became known a few days ago, Libya was also involved in the CIA's program of abductions - "renditions." According to this information, the US intelligence service had delivered several suspects to Tripoli for interrogation. Reports have confirmed that Libyan officers were also involved in the torture. In addition, it is known that the CIA had insisted on having access to suspects delivered to the Libyan authorities to conduct their own interrogations. "I would like to send to Libya an additional two officers and would appreciate if they could have direct access to question this individual," according to a note from the CIA.[8] This corresponds to the routine practice, as has been confirmed also for German intelligence services and police officials. Some of those delivered were members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a terrorist organization that was founded in the mid-90s by former mujahedeen returning home from Afghanistan. In the 80s, numerous Islamists from the conservative eastern region of Libya had fought on the side of western intelligence services and Saudi religious warriors at the Hindu Kush against the Soviet army and the pro-Soviet Afghan government. After the victory at the Hindu Kush, the LIFG set its sights on Moammar Gadhafi.
War on Terror
As former German Intelligence Service Coordinator, Bernd Schmidbauer confirmed, officials of German repressive agencies were also receiving information from their Libyan partner services. "It was primarily information concerning the war on terror," explained Schmidbauer last weekend.[9] But no joint actions were taken. In fact, German repressive institutions have been working with Libyan institutions since the 1960s. In the 70s, for example, Libyan police were receiving training at the German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation and officially retired West German military personnel were in charge of training Libyan soldiers. Even from 2005 to 2008, retired German police - or those on leave - went to Libya to train special units. (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[10]) The German government still claims that reports of the BND (German Federal Intelligence Service) having at least been informed of these activities, are "unfounded." The German foreign espionage service had had at least an employee at the German embassy in Tripoli.
Partner, Adversary, Partner
One of the victims of torture operations taking place between western countries and Libya was Abdel Hakim Belhaj. Toward the end of the 80s, Belhaj, born 1966, went to Afghanistan to join the mujahedeen in the war against the pro-Soviet government and the Soviet Army. He later joined the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and fought Moammar al Gadhafi. In 2003, he was captured by the CIA in Thailand, tortured as a suspected terrorist and later turned over to Libya, where he remained in prison until 2010. This year, Belhaj, along with several hundred other Islamists, took part in the war against the Libyan government and was among those who captured Gadhafi's residence. He has risen to the post of Chairman of the Military Council in Tripoli. This is the second time that he is engaged on the side of the West, which has, each time, used him to help overthrow objectionable governments refusing to unconditionally place themselves at the West's disposal. The fact that Belhaj had been a victim of western torture, when he was suspected of not being loyal toward his former partners, has proven to be no obstacle.
[1] Europeans must account for their complicity in CIA secret detention and torture; commissioner.cws.coe.int 05.09.2011
[2] Zehn Jahre "weltweiter Krieg gegen den Terror" haben die Menschenrechte untergraben - auch in Europa; wcd.coe.int 01.09.2011. See also Boycott through Silence
[3] see also Oktober 2001 and Deutsch-syrischer Herbst
[4] see also Wer ist "Sam", der deutsche Foltergesandte?
[5] see also Zwei weitere Männer
[6] see also Examined and Interrogated
[7] Europeans must account for their complicity in CIA secret detention and torture; commissioner.cws.coe.int 05.09.2011
[8] How Libya Seems to Have Helped the CIA with Rendition of Terrorism Suspects; www.time.com 02.09.2011
[9] Auch deutsche Geheimdienste bekamen Infos aus Libyen; www.tagesschau.de 04.09.2011
[10] see also Collapse of a Partner Regime (I)
