[prisoner-rights] Council of Europe rapporteur on secret detentions intends to visit Guantanamo Bay

Strasbourg, 03.10.2006 -- Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), who is
investigating alleged secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees
on behalf of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), has
announced that he intends to pay a visit to Guantanamo Bay in the company
of UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak.

In a joint statement with Mr Marty, Assembly President René van der
Linden said he expected the US -- which holds observer status with the
Council of Europe -- to agree to the visit. Mr Marty hopes to have contact
with inmates of US secret prisons who, according to President Bush, have
recently been transferred to Guantanamo.

Mr Marty and Mr Rene van der Linden reaffirmed the Assembly's
determination to uncover the whole truth on this matter, in particular as
regards the role played by European countries in aiding and abetting
abuses committed by the CIA. "Putting the whole truth on the table is
important as a matter of principle, and in order to deter future
violations," they said.

They continued: "The astonishing admission by President Bush that the
United States has indeed operated secret prisons in foreign countries
shows that the Assembly's June 2006 resolution was based on actual fact
and that the Assembly's decision to continue the inquiry was right."

The two men also stressed the Assembly's strong support for true
transatlantic partnership in the fight against terrorism, but said it must
be "both effective and respectful of human rights".  They also urged the
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to implement the
Assembly's recommendations and the Secretary General's proposals following
his inquiry under Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

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