'Egyptian message' may be proof of secret CIA prisons

European investigators looking into allegations of secret CIA-run prisons in Europe said today that a purported Egyptian government message naming countries where such prisons existed could amount to indirect proof of the claims.

However, the investigators from the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights body, said they were still trying to confirm that the Egyptian document was genuine.

The document’s existence was reported yesterday by the Swiss weekly SonnstagsBlick.

The newspaper reported that the document said Egypt had confirmed through its own sources that the US intelligence agency had held 23 terror suspects at a military base in Romania.

The message also said there were similar US detention centres in Ukraine, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria, according to the newspaper.

The message, a fax sent by satellite transmission from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry to its embassy in London, was intercepted on November 15 by Swiss intelligence, the newspaper reported.

The Swiss Defence Ministry said yesterday it was investigating the leak of the secret document.

Two of the European investigators said today that, if authenticated, they would consider the faxed message to be indirect proof that the facilities existed and an additional indication that some governments in Europe may not have revealed everything they know.

The two officials said that lead investigator Dick Marty, who is also a Swiss lawmaker, received a copy of the document from the Swiss secret service and was trying to confirm independently that it was genuine. Marty could not be reached for comment today.

Officials at Egypt’s Foreign Ministry were not available to comment because of a holiday.

The Strasbourg, France-based council began its investigation after allegations surfaced in November that US agents interrogated key al-Qaida suspects at clandestine prisons in Eastern Europe and transported some suspects to other countries via Europe.

Marty is to present his findings to the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe later this month.

European officials say such secret prisons would violate the continent’s human rights laws.

New York-based Human Rights Watch identified Romania and Poland as possible sites of secret US-run detention facilities. Both countries have denied involvement.

European Commission spokesman Friso Abbing Roscam said the EU’s executive office has not been informed of the Egyptian fax and would not comment on its content. He said the commission was supporting the council probe.

“We need to get all the facts as straight as possible,” he said.

But the council has complained it still has not received satellite pictures of the Sczytno-Szymany airport in north-eastern Poland and the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in eastern Romania, two possible sites of CIA detention centres.

Marty requested the pictures from Eurocontrol, the EU organisation in charge of managing pan-European air traffic, more than a month ago to determine whether any secret detention centres existed at the sites.

Member states sent Eurocontrol their flight logs of both civilian and military flights.