Extraordinary rendition: death threats to investigators

9.08.21am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 1st Aug 2006

The 'Rapporteur' of the European Parliament Committee investigating extraordinary rendition by the CIA in Europe, Claudio Fava MEP, has received death threats. Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford, Vice-Chair of the Committee today said:

"I would like to express my solidarity with my colleague Claudio Fava at this difficult time. The police must offer him top-level protection. It is an outrage that in a democratic Europe, a parliamentarian investigating breaches of human rights and the rule of law can receive a death threat."

Mr. Fava received an anonymous letter threatening him with the same fate as his father, a Sicilian journalist murdered by the mafia in 1984. In addition, five anonymous letters have been sent to journalists and others involved in the case.

It is also reported that General Pollari, the Head of the Italian secret services agency SISMI, who told the European Parliament in March that he was unaware of the apparent CIA abduction of Abu Omar in 2003, has now told Italian investigators that he protested to the then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at political authorization being given for that exercise. Pollari's number two, Gustavo Pignero, was arrested recently by Milan investigators and a decision is awaited on whether the Prodi government is going to send to the US arrest warrants for 26 CIA agents issued by the Milan prosecutor.

Baroness Ludford added:

"These death threat letters would appear to indicate that parliamentary and judicial investigators are beginning to get close to the truth. It shows how high the stakes are. The determination of some authorities to keep up the wall of silence must be matched by determination to uphold Europe's democratic values."