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9/9/06

JURIST: German Chancellor Merkel calls CIA secret prisons incompatible with rule of law


For the complete report in the JURIST click on this link

German Chancellor Merkel calls CIA secret prisons incompatible with rule of law

German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her official website in Germany on Saturday joined other Europeans in criticizing the Bush administration for admittedly operating clandestine Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) detention centers in Europe, a practice which she called "not compatible with my understanding of the rule of law." President Bush acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons outside the US for the first time Wednesday. The announcement was followed by calls from human rights groups and European officials to reveal more information about the prisons, and on Friday UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour demanded that they be abolished. In June, the Council of Europe passed a resolution condemning alleged collusion between some European governments and the CIA after an investigation and report by Swiss legislator Dick Marty concluded that illegal US detention centers in Europe existed.

Apparently unmoved by the criticisms, President Bush nonetheless used his weekly radio address Saturday to praise the program's achievements [AP report] in keeping Americans safe. "Were it not for this program," he insisted, "our intelligence community believes that al Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland." Merkel, who has tried to improve relations with the United States since assuming office in November, has commended the Bush administration for acknowledging the existence of the detention centers.

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