Black site

Last updated

Black sites are clandestine detention centres operated by a state where prisoners who have not been charged with a crime are incarcerated without due process or court order, are often mistreated and murdered, and have no recourse to bail. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Argentina

Several clandestine detention centres operated in Argentina during the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983. Prisoners, many of whom had been "disappeared", were tortured and murdered, including pregnant women who were killed after giving birth, and their babies given to military families. [4]

China

Black sites are widespread within China and a Chinese black site has been alleged to exist in Dubai by a former detainee. [2] Black sites in China are also known as "black jails." [5]

Egypt

Black sites are used extensively by the Egyptian security services. During the Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014) hundreds of protesters alleged that torture occurred at these black sites. The Egyptian security service also operated black sites involved with the CIA's counter-terror black site program. [6]

Iran

Rights groups have documented abuse in clandestine detention centers. Sources cited by CNN noted in 2023 that black-site torture appeared to increase during the Mahsa Amini protests. [7]

Russia

In Chechnya, gay men have allegedly been tortured at black sites by Chechen security forces. [8] Gay men in other parts of Russia have been kidnapped and transported to sites in Chechnya, where over 100 have been tortured, and some killed. [9] Chechen authorities have thwarted attempts by the Russian LGBT Network to help gay people in Chechnya escape to safe locations in Russia, and inhibited investigations by the Kremlin's human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova. Despite protests in major Russian cities against the situation in Chechnya, Vladimir Putin, wanting to maintain good relations with Kadyrov, has denied that any abuses of homosexuals in Chechnya have occurred. Chechnya is arguably the most homophobic area in Russia, with 95% of its population adhering to Orthodox (Sunni) Islam. It remains the only district of Russia where homosexuality is outlawed and punishable with jail time. [10] [11]

Turkey

United States

CIA controlled black sites have been used by the U.S. government in its War on Terror to detain enemy combatants. [3] US President George W. Bush acknowledged the existence of secret prisons operated by the CIA during a speech on September 6, 2006. [12] [13] A claim that the black sites existed was made by The Washington Post in November 2005 and before this by human rights NGOs. [14]

A European Union (EU) report adopted on February 14, 2007, by a majority of the European Parliament (382 MEPs voting in favor, 256 against and 74 abstaining) stated the CIA operated 1,245 flights and that it was not possible to contradict evidence or suggestions that secret detention centers where prisoners have been tortured were operated in Poland and Romania. [3] [15] After denying the fact for years, Poland confirmed in 2014 that it has hosted black sites. [16]

In January 2012, Poland's Prosecutor General's office initiated investigative proceedings against Zbigniew Siemiątkowski, the former Polish intelligence chief. Siemiątkowski was charged with facilitating the alleged CIA detention operation in Poland, where foreign suspects may have been tortured in the context of the War on Terror. The involvement of Leszek Miller, Poland's Prime Minister from 2001 to 2004, is also considered possible. [17] [18]

A 2022 United Press International story cited former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski as admitting in 2014 that his country had provided "a quiet location" for the CIA to operate a black site to torture accused 9/11 terrorists. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Zubaydah</span> Saudi Arabian Guantanamo detainee

Abu Zubaydah is a Palestinian citizen and alleged terrorist born in Saudi Arabia currently held by the U.S. in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He is held under the authority of Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramzan Kadyrov</span> Head of Chechen Republic since 2007

Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is a Russian politician and current Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated to the Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the separatist-appointed mufti of Chechnya. He is a colonel general in the Russian military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Russia</span>

Russia has consistently been criticized by international organizations and independent domestic media outlets for human rights violations. Some of the most commonly cited violations include deaths in custody, the systemic and widespread use of torture by security forces and prison guards, the existence of hazing rituals within the Russian Army —referred to as dedovshchina — as well as prevalent breaches of children's rights, instances of violence and prejudice against ethnic minorities, and the targeted killings of journalists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri</span> Alleged al-Qaeda mastermind

Abd al-Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu al-Nashiri is a Saudi Arabian citizen alleged to be the mastermind of the bombing of USS Cole and other maritime attacks. He is alleged to have headed al-Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf states prior to his capture in November 2002 by the CIA's Special Activities Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extraordinary rendition</span> State-sponsored abduction and transfer to a third country

Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored kidnapping in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror, which had the purpose of circumventing the source country's laws on interrogation, detention, extradition and/or torture. Extraordinary rendition is a type of extraterritorial abduction, but not all extraterritorial abductions include transfer to a third country.

Ghost detainee is a term used in the executive branch of the United States government to designate a person held in a detention center, whose identity has been hidden by keeping them unregistered and therefore anonymous. Such uses arose as the Bush administration initiated the War on Terror following the 9/11 attacks of 2001 in the United States. As documented in the 2004 Taguba Report, it was used in the same manner by United States officials and contractors of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003–2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt Pit</span> Former CIA prison in Afghanistan

The Salt Pit and Cobalt were the code names of an isolated clandestine CIA black site prison and interrogation center outside Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. It was located north of Kabul and was the location of a brick factory prior to the Afghanistan War. The CIA adapted it for extrajudicial detention.

Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, in the context of the early twenty-first century War on Terrorism, refers to foreign nationals the United States detains outside of the legal process required within United States legal jurisdiction. In this context, the U.S. government is maintaining torture centers, called black sites, operated by both known and secret intelligence agencies. Such black sites were later confirmed by reports from journalists, investigations, and from men who had been imprisoned and tortured there, and later released after being tortured until the CIA was comfortable they had done nothing wrong, and had nothing to hide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kadyrovites</span> Chechen paramilitary and protection unit

The 141st Special Motorized Regiment, also known as the Kadyrovites, Kadyrovtsy and the Akhmat special forces unit, is a paramilitary organization in Chechnya, Russia, that serves as the protection of the Head of the Chechen Republic. The term Kadyrovtsy is commonly used in Chechnya to refer to any armed, ethnically-Chechen men under the control of Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. As of 2023, the regiment's official commander was Adam Delimkhanov, a close ally of Kadyrov.

Human rights violations were committed by the warring sides during the second war in Chechnya. Both Russian officials and Chechen rebels have been regularly and repeatedly accused of committing war crimes including kidnapping, torture, murder, hostage taking, looting, rape, decapitation, and assorted other breaches of the law of war. International and humanitarian organizations, including the Council of Europe and Amnesty International, have criticized both sides of the conflict for blatant and sustained violations of international humanitarian law.

Russia incurred much international criticism for its conduct during the Second Chechen War, which started in 1999. The governments of the United States and other countries condemned deaths and expulsions among civilians. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR) passed two resolutions in 2000 and 2001 condemning human rights violations in Chechnya and requiring Russia to set up an independent national commission of inquiry to investigate the matter. However, a third resolution on these lines failed in 2004. The Council of Europe in multiple resolutions and statements between 2003 and 2007 called on Russia to cease human rights violations. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) between 2005 and 2007 conducted legal cases brought by Chechens against the Russian government, and in many of these cases held Russia responsible for deaths, disappearances and torture.

There are cases, both documented and alleged, that involve the usage of torture by members of the United States government, military, law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, health care services, and other public organizations both in and out of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Chechnya</span> Human rights in Russian territory

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Chechnya have long been a cause of concern for human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. As a member of the Russian Federation, Russia's LGBT laws formally apply. De facto, there are no protections for LGBT citizens, and the Chechen authorities allegedly encourage the killing of people suspected of homosexuality by their families.

Marwan Jabour is a former captive held in the CIA's network of black sites. He was raised him Saudi Arabia by his Palestinian guest worker parents. He moved to Pakistan for study, in 1994.

Chernokozovo detention center is a prison in the village of Chernokozovo, Chechnya, Russia. The detention center is operated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and currently has the status of penal colony.

Filtration camps, also known as concentration camps, were camps used by the Russian forces for their mass internment centers during the First Chechen War and then again during the Second Chechen War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tora Prison</span> Egyptian prison complex

Tora Prison is an Egyptian prison complex for criminal and political detainees, located in Tora, Egypt. The complex is situated in front of the Tora El Balad metro station. The main buildings in the Tora Prison complex are Tora Agricultural Prison, Tora Liman, Tora Istiqbal (reception), Tora El Mahkoum and Tora Supermax prison, also known as Scorpion Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-gay purges in Chechnya</span> Overview about anti-gay purges in Chechnya

Anti-gay purges in Chechnya, a part of the Russian Federation, have included forced disappearances, secret abductions, imprisonment, torture and extrajudicial killing by authorities targeting persons based on their perceived sexual orientation, primarily gay men. At least 2 of the 100 people, whom authorities detained on suspicion of being gay or bisexual, have reportedly died after being held in what human rights groups and eyewitnesses have called concentration camps.

The British Indian Ocean Territory, sometimes known as the Chagos Archipelago has had many threats of occupation by various groups, especially since the Depopulation of Chagossians from the Chagos Archipelago, as well as being a joint UK-US facility that is used in countering terrorism. The UK maintains that there is a low risk of terrorism in this territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIA black sites</span> Secret headquarters used by the CIA

The CIA controls black sites used by the U.S. government in its War on Terror to detain people deemed to be enemy combatants.

References

  1. ↑ "black site". Collins English Dictionary.
  2. 1 2 "Detainee says China has secret jail in Dubai, holds Uyghurs". Taiwan News. Associated Press. August 16, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "EU endorses damning report on CIA". BBC News. February 14, 2007.
  4. ↑ Tondo, Lorenzo; Basso, Elena; Jones, Sam (January 16, 2023). "Adopted by their parents' enemies: tracing the stolen children of Argentina's 'dirty war'". The Guardian.
  5. ↑ LANGFITT, FRANK. "For Complainers, A Stint In China's 'Black Jails'". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  6. ↑ Rosenfeld, Jesse (June 19, 2014). "Egypt's Black Site Torture Camps". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  7. ↑ "How Iran used a network of secret torture centers to crush an uprising". www.cnn.com. 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ Krupkin, Taly. "Gay Men in Chechnya Tell of Black Sites Where They're Tortured, Some to Death". Haaretz. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Chechen police 'kidnap and torture gay men' - LGBT activists". BBC News. April 11, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  10. ↑ De Bruyn, Piet (June 8, 2018). "Persecution of LGBTI people in the Chechen Republic (Russian Federation)" (PDF). Doc. 14572 Report. Council of Europe (Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination). 1: 15 – via ECOI.
  11. ↑ "Russia: New Anti-Gay Crackdown in Chechnya". Human Rights Watch. May 8, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Bush: Top terror suspects to face tribunals". CNN. Associated Press. September 6, 2006. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
  13. ↑ "Bush admits to CIA secret prisons". BBC News. September 7, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2007.
  14. ↑ Priest, Dana (November 2, 2005). "CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 19, 2007.
  15. ↑ Key excerpts of the February 2007 report adopted by the European Parliament
  16. ↑ Williams, Carol (May 10, 2015). "Poland feels sting of betrayal over CIA 'black site'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  17. ↑ Matthew Day (March 27, 2012). "Poland ex-spy boss 'charged over alleged CIA secret prison'" . The Telegraph . Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  18. ↑ Joanna Berendt, Nicholas Kulish (March 27, 2012). "Polish Ex-Official Charged With Aiding the C.I.A." The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Supreme Court rejects Guantánamo prisoner's request to interview torturers". www.upi.com. United Press International. March 3, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.