Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January-June 2007 Renditions and secret detention centres (update to AI Index: EUR 01/001/2007) International bodies continued to raise concerns about Poland’s alleged involvement in the USA’s programme of secret detentions and renditions (the illegal transfer of people between states outside of any judicial process), and its inadequate responses to their investigations. On 14 February members of the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on allegations of illegal activity in Europe by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released the results of their investigation. They concluded that Romania did not investigate properly the claims that the USA may have operated secret detention facilities in its territory; criticized Romania's inquiry report as superficial, and expressed concern about the lack of control by Romanian authorities over US activities in military bases in their country. AI had raised concerns that last-minute attempts to weaken the Temporary Committee’s report were a worrying sign of the European Parliament's vulnerability to national and party interests, despite the grave nature of abuses: kidnapping, torture and disappearances (see AI Index: IOR 61/005/2007). On 8 June, , the Rapporteur on secret detentions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Senator Dick Marty, issued a second report revealing new evidence that US ''high-value detainees'' were held in secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) secret detention centres in Poland and Romania during the period 2002-2005, and alleged a secret agreement among members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in October 2001 which provided the basic framework for this and other illegal CIA activities in Europe. In an explanatory memorandum made public the same day, Senator Dick Marty said he had crossreferenced the credible testimonies of over 30 members of intelligence services in the US and Europe with analysis of ''data strings'' from the international flight Amnesty International 91 planning system. AI applauded the report and the extraordinary investigative work undertaken by Dick Marty’s office in getting to the well-concealed truth about the USled secret detention programme (see, AI Index: IOR 30/013/2007). The report strengthened AI's finding that three former secret detainees, whose cases were extensively documented over a year ago, had been held in an Eastern European "black site". Later that month as PACE was preparing to debate Senator Marty’s report, AI called on Poland and Romania to conduct independent, impartial and thorough investigations into new information concerning CIA flights and secret detention centres on their territories (see AI Index: EUR 37/003/2007). AI also called on PACE to adopt the draft Resolution and Recommendation on rendition and secret detention accompanying Senator Dick Marty’s report. PACE subsequently endorsed Senator Marty’s report on 27 June, with 124 votes in favour, 37 against and eight abstentions, backing its conclusions that “it is now established with a high degree of probability that secret detention centres operated by the CIA, forming part of the High Value Detainee (HVD) program, existed for some years in Poland and Romania..” When adopting the Recommendation, the PACE called on the need for democratic oversight of military intelligence services and foreign intelligence services operating on their territory; urged the restrictions on the investigations on the grounds of “national security” to be lifted; and urged compensation to the victims of the unlawful transfers and detention. Both Poland and Romania denied their involvement with secret detention centres and the Romanian delegation announced its withdrawal from the PACE. Unlawful killings by Romanian members of UNMIK Civilian Police (see also entry on Serbia/Kosovo) Eleven members of a Romanian Special Police Unit were repatriated from Kosovo on 21 March. The law enforcement officers AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007