The CIA kidnapping of Khaled al-Masri
international |
miscellaneous |
opinion/analysis 
Tuesday December 06, 2005 09:34
by Kevin Mannerings
kevin.mannerings at vr-web dot de
How much did Otto Schilly and Gerhardt Schroeder know about the CIA kidnapping of Khaled al-Masri, the man who was grabbed by mistake?
The story of Khaled al-Masri, a German citizen from Ulm, who was kidnapped by the CIA while on holiday in Macedonia in January 2004, has taken a dramatic turn.
The US Government is claiming it informed the German Government about the kidnapping some time ago. Daniel Coats, the US ambassador, is said to have informed Otto Schilly, the German Interior Minister in May 2204. He would have been obliged to inform the Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schroeder.
Masri was injected with drugs and tortured. He was flown to Afghanistan. Five months later, the CIA realised they had got the wrong Khaled al-Masri, he was taken back to Albania, and set out on the street. He made his way home to Ulm and reported his kidnapping.
If Schilly and Schroeder knew about this, and did nothing, then they are party to the crime. The State Prosecuter in Bavaria is investigating.
It is expected that al-Masri will start proceedings against the CIA in a US court today.
It had been thought that the practice of state collusion in kidnapping citizens and torturing them had come to an end here in Germany in 1945.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that Otto Schilly made his reputation in the early 1970's as the lawyer who defended the RAF 'terrorists' Horst Mahler and Gudrun Ennslin. He was present at the post-mortem of Baader, Raspe, and Ennslin, three RAF members who died in Stuttgart-Stammheim in 1977.
Today, Otto Schilly is exercising his right to remain silent about the kidnapping and torture of Khaled al-Masri.
Comments (9 of 9)
Jump To Comment: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Mr al Masri denied on german TV yesterday claims reported on wednesday by the current German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble that he had received a sum of money and had agreed to keep quiet about the incident.
"I did not get any money from anyone, and I did not promise anyone that I would keep quiet about what happened to me," Masri told the German ZDF television station.
Schaeuble told parliament on Wednesday that then-U.S. ambassador Daniel Coats had told former Interior Minister Otto Schily on May 31, 2004 that Masri "had received an apology, agreed to keep quiet and been paid a sum of money."
Schaeuble also said that Coats had not gone into detail about what happened to Masri. He had mentioned "neither the word Afghanistan, nor the length of time he had been held by the American side," the German interior minister said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the U.S. lawsuit on Masri's behalf, dismissed Schaeuble's assertions as unsubstantiated rumour.
In a U.S. lawsuit against ex-CIA director George Tenet and other unnamed officials, Masri is seeking compensation of at least $75,000, plus "punitive and exemplary damages" and legal fees.
[read all at http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=6325513&cKey=1134772516000
the Swiss have also opened an investigation into CIA use of their airspace, nice article from from the helvetian gnomes with good trackback-
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=111&sid=6325344&cKey=1134768422000
The former German Interior Minister (approx. Minister for Justice) has responded to the allegation that he knew about the Masri kidnapping but did not inform the public prosecutor.
He says it is not his job to help the prosecutor! ("»Ich bin nicht der Ermittlungsgehilfe der Staatsanwaltschaft.«")
Well, you have to admire his chutzpah, that is for sure. He says he asked the Americans to inform the prosecutor.
So here we have a former justice minister telling us that if you know about a crime, you don't have to report it. This even beats Sean Doherty.
If the state prosecutors in Munich don't respond to this, the German authorities will be a laughing stock.
Meanwhile US diplomats have been busy denying that Rice admitted to Merkel that the kidnapping was a mistake, saying that the case was not even discussed directly. For her part, Merkel is standing over her claim that Rice admitted the mistake, and says that the US comments confirm what she said!
Last but not least, Khaled el-Masri himself was refused permission yesterday to enter the USA and attend a press conference. No reason was given for this.
As you all might know, Mr Blair has faced questions on the CIA flights today in London.
Both the leader of the Liberal democrats and a Labour backbencher (anti war) putting the questions.
Blair has "endorsed" Rice's statement of yesterday.
Meanwhile Berlusconi has issued another declaration building on last weekend's (made with Zapatero) that he knew nothing of CIA flights. He is though showing signs of irritation with the whole thing.
There's a lot to collate. I thought you'd appreciate a picture of Masri, whose case is building profile in the scandinavian tabloid press. Rather interestingly this whole story which is as Ed Horgan noted in a comment earlier "so great" it needs proper collation.
(maybe even its own imc site LOL) has gone very rapidly from alternative press (our good selves) to the tabloids of Europe and the lowest common denominator of US TV.
To my mind it hasn't really spent enough time in the editorials of the quality broadsheets or generated enough "washington conduit" investigative articles.
khaled masri.
Yesterday Condolezza Rice and Angela Merkel met and discussed this case. There is some confusion about whether Rice acknowleged to Merkel that Masri had been kidnapped by mistake. Merkel claimed this in a joint press conference, but afterwards, according to the Finacial Times Deutschland there was a diplomatic row over what Condolezza had actally said to Angie.
Whatever about that, Merkel has kicked the ball into touch. A parliamentary commission will investigate the matter, but it will meet in secret and won't be able to call Shily as a witness. The left-wing Green member of the Bundestag Hans-Christian Ströbele is a member of the commission, so there may be some action from him.
R.isable, the reason why this came out was because of the exemplary work of Masri's lawyer Manfred Gnjidic. He forced an investigation by the state prosecutor in Münich, and also demanded action from Gerhard Schroeder.
It remains to be seen whether the state prosecutor in Münich will request Otto Shily to attend as a witness, or indeed open an investigation into him for having covered up the crime.
Righteous Pragmatist, nice try, but am not sure you are up to speed on this one. Best ask your supervisor to send you on another spin doctoring course.
You continue your fine tradition of ignoring facts: the detained and tortured man was cleared completely by the CIA of any involvement of the type that you so confidently mis-assert. The Washington Post has reported that CIA officials have /clearly admitted/ that they made a mistake in imprisoning Khaled El-Masri and that the only reason we know about this is because the Germans refused to keep quiet. Really, sometimes I wonder if you post just as a real, live strawman.
The only thing that you can be sure of is that the blowback from this heinous abuse of suspects will be heavier recruiting for the enemies of the USA. Well done. With friends like you....
The CIA have an ad in this weeks Economist for clandestine operatives. you have to be prepared to relocate to the Washington DC area and may be required to serve overseas.
the CIA have a sense of humour - they say they run a drug free environment.
The US ABC network has long had ties to the CIA through its previous owner, Captial Cities. It currently has "ex"-CIA operatives as consultants on its news radio division and has a popular action show about a CIA covert agent family.
Macedonia borders Kosovo both countries in which the KLA or the Kosovar Liberation Army operates - the were originally involved in fighting Serb Army and secret police during the Yugoslav Wars especially during 1999 when Milosevic tried to ethnically cleanse the entire population.
America led by the inept Clinton administration and the European Union had earlier failed to intervene in Yugoslavia and prevent ethnic cleansing in Sebrenicia in Bosnia and Croatia and then praised Milosevic for signing the Dayton peace agreement which effectively ended the wars. As stories filtered through of new atrocities in Kosovo committed by Milosevic's forces the international community demanded that they act.
During this period the US Delta Force and British SAS were rumoured to have trained KLA and supplied them with Stinger missiles and other heavier weapons to conduct guerilla attacks against Serb police and army units before and during the NATO bombing of Belgrade and other Serbian cities after which the threat of a ground invasion forced Milosevic to withdraw his forces ( Clinton was not criticised even though the Kosovar War did not have UN authorisation)
Post 1999 the Muslim population of Kosovo began their own ethnic cleansing of the Serb population while the provence was and remains under the administration of the UN.
This was and is again conducted by the KLA which emerged as an Islamic fundementalist terrorist group.
KLA turned its attention on the Macedonian city of Skobje which came under mortar bombardment by militia forces in 2001 who occupied hilltop positions above the city before they were dislodged defeated and forced to retreat back into Kosovo and Albania (Albania allowed them to run training camps) by the Macedonian Army.
The KLA and other muslim groups among them former Bosnian Muslims recieved increasing support for Al-Qeada and the funding network for terrorists originating in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic Middle Eastern and Asia countries.
In 2001 of course New York and Washington were attacked and Bush launched the invasion of Afghanistan where the Taliban allowed Al-Qaeda to run training camps for thousands of terrorists from the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. KLA fighters were killed or captured as they fought American and Northern Alliance forces.
Khaled Al-Masra was not on holiday in Macedonia - he was probably laising with his brother Islamic terrorists in the KLA who are poised to spread their terror into central and eastern European countries blissfully unaware they are only car journey from the frontline.
CIA prisons in Europe closed in November: ABC News
Tue Dec 6, 2005 1:39 AM ET6
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States held captured al Qaeda suspects at two secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe until last month when the facilities were shut down after media reports of their existence, ABC News reported on Monday, citing current and former CIA agents.
........................
Clearly, our foreign minister needs to ask Ms Rice to provide details of which interrogation techniques the US employs or condones, and which ones it considers to be forbidden.
And our journalists need to keep asking Bertie and Dermot Ahern for full details. Not assurances and reassurances, but specific factual information about times and places.
Best,
Coilín.
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