EU to investigate allegations of CIA secret prisons

Frustrated by the lack of progress in various European probes, senior EU parliamentarians today decided to set up their own committee to investigate allegations of CIA secret prisons in eastern Europe.

The committee will have 46 members, who will be named next week during the parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France, leaders of the political groups in the EU assembly said.

It will be the first EU probe into the issue.

Several EU countries have launched their own inquiries, and the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights watchdog, is also investigating.

“We need to examine all the evidence available to see whether or not fundamental rights across the European Union have been respected,” said Graham Watson, chairman of the Liberal Democrats.

The committee has a mandate to investigate for up to a year, although the first interim report will be presented in four months, said parliament spokesman Neil Corlett.

The full assembly must approve the committee next week in Strasbourg, but that is expected to be a formality, he said.