Intelligence

UN investigating use of Irish airport by CIA 'torture plane'

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Sept 14, IRNA
US Torture-Irish Airport
The United Nations was reported Wednesday to be planning to investigate the use of Shannon Airport on the west coast of Ireland by the US military as part of the President George W Bush's declared "war on terrorism."
According to the Irish Independent's news breaking service, the Irish government's decision to allow the US to use the airport would be scrutinized as part of an inquiry into the alleged torture of terrorist suspects.

Last December, the London-based Sunday Times reported that a Gulfstream 5 jet, leased by the US Defence Department and CIA agents, had stopped at Shannon 14 times since January 2002 according to log books.

The executive jet was said to be used by American intelligence agencies to fly terrorist suspects to countries that routinely use torture reveal Shannon airport as one of the plane's most regular stopping points.

The report came after Irish Transport Minister Martin Cullen insisted that American authorities had said airports in Ireland had not been used for the transit of prisoners to or from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba or elsewhere.

The UN inquiry was reported to be centering on an aircraft allegedly used by the CIA to transport detainees to countries where they can be tortured on behalf of the US without any legal ramifications.

Irish peace activists have claimed that the plan frequently lands at Shannon, but complaints to Gardai (police) have failed to lead to any inspections of the plane.

It was suggested that Ireland could be found in breach of international law if it were found to have failed to act to prevent torture.

Shannon has previously been at the center of anti-war protests because of its use to ferry US troops and equipment to and from Iraq.

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