US torture ruling has implications for Ireland
The two men, Binyam Mohamed and Bisher al-Rawi, who were tortured and unlawfully held by the US government, claim the Boeing subsidiary, Jeppesen Data, should be held accountable for providing aircraft, pilots and logistical support to the CIA for the rendition flights that transported them.
This ruling has serious implications for airport authorities and others in Ireland, as rendition aircraft operated by companies like Jeppesen have been facilitated at Irish airports on numerous occasions.
In fact, planes associated with Jeppesen landed at Shannon on two occasions while taking Binyam Mohamed to be tortured: N379P landed on July 22, 2002, the day after it rendered Binyam from Pakistan to Morocco where he faced 18 months of torture, and N313P stopped in Shannon on January 16, 2004 en route to rendering him from Rabat to the notorious “Dark Prison” in Kabul (this information is available from the British legal charity, Reprieve). Surely the time has come for the Irish Government to take a leaf out of President Obama’s book and to shine some light on this country’s role in the CIA’s sordid rendition programme?
Private air companies like Jeppeson, as well as the US military, have used Shannon airport for most of this decade without any investigation of their business, despite repeated requests by local activists and organisations like Amnesty International.
And even though the Government established a cabinet committee on aspects of international human rights six months ago to investigate these matters, it has been noticeably silent.
Accountability for past acts of torture – and for complicity in these acts – is the only way to prevent future acts of torture.
And in Ireland that accountability must begin with government transparency in relation to the US military and CIA use of Shannon.
John Lannon
Raheen
Ballyneety
Co Limerick
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