‘At least 50 CIA flights have landed at Shannon’

AT least 50 CIA flights have landed at Shannon Airport, one of which was returning from transporting a kidnapped German national to Egypt, Amnesty International says.

They gave details of 800 flights into and out of Europe during a four-year period involving six planes operating under various names used by the CIA.

While 50 were logged as landing at Shannon Airport, just 35 were shown as taking off. Amnesty said this suggested that some of these flights were kept secret.

The report was given to the European Parliament committee investigating if European governments knew of or helped any of the illegal so-called rendition flights.

Amnesty said they were responding to the request by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern for information.

They claim the flight that took Abu Omar from Germany to Cairo on February 17, 2003, afterward flew to the US, landing at Shannon at 5.52am on February 18 to refuel.

Mr Omar was not on board at this time. He was kidnapped while walking on a street in Milan. The Italian police say the CIA action killed their investigations into an al-Qaida network they were close to exposing.

The report gave just partial flight logs for six planes, but according to Amnesty the CIA was reported to be using 30 leased aircraft.

The largest of the six planes for which they have some details was a 32-seater owned by Premier Executiive Transport Services, a CIA front company.

They say it was seen frequently at US military bases including some in Afghanistan. Nicknamed The Guantanamo Bay Express they said it made more than 50 trips to the US detention centre in Cuba.

The plane that took Mr Omar from Germany to Egypt and refuelled at Shannon was also used for trips to Afghanistan, Morocco, Dubai, Jordan, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic.

Amnesty said European countries have allowed these aircraft to land, refuel and take off from their territory.

“Under international law and standards all states must co-operate to bring to an end any serious breach of the prohibition of torture and other peremptory rules of international law. They must also refrain from aiding or assisting those carrying out such breaches.”

MEP Simon Coveney, who is a member of the European Parliament’s committee investigating the claims, said the Government needs to get further assurances from the US that Shannon is not being used at any stage of their rendition missions.

“I do not think the Irish Government could have known about these flights because they were not carrying detainees when they landed at Shannon.

“Even if we had compulsory searches this would not have shown up,” he said.

Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern has said on numerous occasions that he had received undertakings from the US authorities that Shannon or Ireland was not being used in such flights.

His report to the Council of Europe said three complaints about the use of Shannon were investigated by the gardaí. Files on two of these complaints were sent to the DPP, who did not proceed for lack of evidence.

The Taoiseach’s office refused to release information on such flights under the Freedom of Information Act to The Sunday Business Post last month, claiming it would breach the State’s security, defence or international relations.