HispanicBusiness

A New York-based human rights organization Monday drew back the heavy cloak of secrecy on the CIA's rendition and black site torture programme, naming 54 countries that have either hosted secret prisons or helped in the transport or torture of terrorist suspects.

The Open Society Justice Initiative detailed in a report the cases of 136 known victims who were secretly held, saying that the "responsibility for the abuses lies not only with the United States but with dozens of foreign governments that were complicit."

The so-called "black sites" were set up by the CIA to interrogate, often using torture, terrorist suspects captured abroad. While some of the sites have been disclosed since the programme started, the report "Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition" offers the first comprehensive overview.

The programme began after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and, according to the report, continues in some form or other even today. The term "extraordinary rendition" refers to the transport of a suspect from one country to another under the radar of international justice systems.

The 54 governments identified in the report as either hosting a black site or helping to transport suspects include: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

The report is posted here as a PDF.