MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared that the Polish authorities violated human rights back in 2002 by allowing the CIA to hold two prisoners on the country’s territory, Reuters reported on Thursday.
According to the ruling, another violation of the Convention on Human Rights arises from the fact that the Polish authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation into the matter and to prevent the torture of detainees, held in CIA prisons.
Starting from 2008, Poland’s prosecutor general has been investigating a classified case on the establishment in Poland of a secret American Center in 2003, where the CIA procured testimony from terrorism suspects through torture. The case numbers three victims and one accused. According to Polish media reports, the alleged offender is Poland’s former intelligence chief Zbigniew Siemiatkowski.
In response to the ECHR announcement, Polish authorities said that the decision to cooperate with the CIA in 2002 was taken against the looming threat of terrorism after the attacks in New York, implying there are no legal grounds for prosecution.
