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Amnesty International is concerned by the practice of “extraordinary renditions” in which the United States is transferring individuals for interrogation to countries with a record of using torture. U.S. laws and international treaties prohibit the transfer of suspects to countries where they are likely to face torture. Nonetheless, the U.S. Government is reported to have sent or been complicit in sending individuals to countries such as Jordan, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Syria, and Egypt – all countries the U.S. has criticized for practicing torture. The U.S. Government has not offered a public definition of “extraordinary renditions” nor has it provided public disclosure about this practice. The practice of “extraordinary renditions” is cloaked in secrecy, making it difficult to know how many individuals are affected. Detainees have been denied legal recourse to challenge their detention or prevent their transfer to a country where they may be tortured. There has been little accountability. Congress must act to ensure compliance with U.S. law and protection of basic human rights. “Extraordinary renditions” contravene U.S. law and international treaties. The United States ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and adopted legislation to help implement the treaty obligations through the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (“FARRA”). The Torture Convention prohibits nations from deporting persons to a country where it is more likely than not that s/he will be tortured. FARRA states: “It shall be the policy of the United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the United States.” Congressman Edward Markey (MA) has introduced the “Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act” (H.R. 952) and Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) has introduced the “Convention Against Torture Implementation Act” (S. 654) to prevent the transfer of a detainee to a country that has a history of practicing torture. It would require annual reporting of countries that engage in torture, and establish standards for assurances from such regimes for immigration removal and lawful extradition practices. This legislation is an important step in affirming U.S. commitments under both international agreements and domestic laws to prevent torture, and helps restore U.S. credibility. The case of Mahar Arar brought public attention to “extraordinary renditions.” U.S. authorities detained Arar, a Canadian citizen of Syrian descent, at New York’s JFK airport where he was in transit to Canada. He was detained and interrogated in the United States for several days and denied access to counsel and family. He was flown against his will to Jordan where he reports being beaten during detention. Arar was then forcibly transferred to Syria where he was held for ten months and reportedly tortured. Canadian officials secured his release and he now resides with his family in Canada. The Arar case raises many questions about how the decision was made to deport him to Syria, even though he traveled on his Canadian passport and expressed fear of torture if returned to Syria. Several other similar cases have since been reported. Swedish authorities are investigating the US capture and transfer of two men, Ahmed Agiza and Muhammed al-Zery, to Egypt where were both were allegedly tortured with electric devices. Additionally, Germany and Italy are pursuing criminal investigations: German citizen, Khaled el-Masri, was taken from a bus in Macedonia and allegedly abducted by the CIA. German prosecutors say they have confirmed parts of el-Masri’s story that he was taken to an American prison in Afghanistan, deprived of water, and interrogated for five months before being told that there had been a case of mistaken identity and left in Albania. El-Masri has since filed a law suit against the United States. Italian prosecutors investigating the CIA’s involvement in the kidnapping of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr have indicted 22 CIA agents for kidnapping. Nasr was reportedly kidnapped in Milan, sprayed in the face, forced into a van and taken to Egypt.
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