Human Rights Commission to probe CIA agreement

The Irish Human Rights Commission is to examine an agreement which will allow CIA agents to secretly question Irish citizens on Irish soil, it emerged today.

The bilateral instruments, signed by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and the US Ambassador to Ireland James C Kenny last week, provide for sweeping powers to be given to the US authorities on request, including the right to seize documents, check bank accounts and carry out searches of property.

The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said it would be examining the agreement, which was drawn up to assist the US “war on terror” in the wake of September 11.

“When we establish the facts, we will be looking to see if there are any implications for breaches of human rights,” said president Dr Maurice Manning.

He said that one of the IHRC’s functions was to examine any proposed legislation for breaches of human rights.

Mr McDowell has said that legislation will be required to give effect to some elements of the bilateral instruments on “Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters”.

The instruments, which were published on the Department of Justice’s website last week, clearly state that the requested party (Ireland) shall allow American representatives (such as CIA agents) to sit in on interviews of suspects arrested on Irish soil and ask questions.

The interrogations can be carried out in secret, and the costs of carrying them out, along with other US requests, will be borne by the Irish taxpayer under the agreement.

The person who will request co-operation from the Minister for Justice is US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the man who, as White House counsel, wrote a controversial memo to US President George W Bush which advised how far CIA agents could go in torturing prisoners.

The Department of Justice has said the instruments update and supplement existing agreements in the case of extradition and mutual legal assistance to bring them into line with the EU-US agreements.

“Negotiations were conducted on the understanding that there should be full protection of fundamental rights and respect for constitutional principles,” it said in a statement.