European Parliament Condemns CIA Rendition Flights

The European Parliament today approved a final report condemning the CIA's practice of flying terror suspects abroad for interrogation.

The report caps a year-long high-profile investigation by a special European Parliament committee into CIA activities in Europe.

The report accuses 13 EU member states of tolerating and concealing the practice of "extraordinary rendition" -- the CIA's term for transferring terror suspects to foreign countries, where they could face torture.

The report says at least 1,245 CIA-operated flights have flown over European airspace or stopped at European airports since September 11, 2001.

However, the report gives no direct proof that the CIA ran secret prisons in Europe -- an allegation that prompted the start of the inquiry.

The document calls on all EU governments to provide full information on their cooperation or knowledge of CIA flights to the European Commission.

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