By Anthony Fletcher - 15th July 2007
European parliament vice president Marek Siwiec is considering court action after he was named in a council of Europe report on secret detentions and illegal transfers of CIA detainees.
Siwiec said the report by Dick Marty, of the council of Europe, accuses not only Romania and Poland of participating in hosting these camps, but also alleges that, as former defence minister of Poland, he knew the existence of these facilities but kept quiet.
"The new report mentions my name on the page 35 in four points, explicitly insinuating my participation in the High Value Detainee programme," Siwiec said at a press conference.
Together with Romanian MEP Ioan Mircea Pascu, Siwiec is demanding to have his name removed from the report.
"I was attacked personally," he said. "I cannot accept what was in this report."
"This discredits my position and discredits all the work down by the council of Europe."
Siwiec said that he has hired a firm of lawyers who have called upon Marty to desist in the "violation of my rights".
"I call on him to apologise for using my name in this council of Europe report without any grounds," he added.
The report on secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees involving council of Europe member states - put together by the parliamentary assembly of the council of Europe (PACE) - will be discussed in the European parliament tomorrow.
Swiss PACE rapporteur Marty, who will be in attendance, claims to have evidence that US high-value detainees were held in secret CIA prisons in Poland and Romania during the period 2002 to 2005.
He also alleges a series of partly secret decisions among Nato allies in October 2001 which provided the basic framework for illegal CIA activities in Europe.
But Pascu said in the press conference that Marty does not support his accusations with concrete evidence.
"By accusing Siwiec and me, he is indirectly undermining this institution," he said. "Marty has done a great disservice to the council of Europe."
"Tomorrow I will decide as deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee whether I will participate. My name is still in the report. I’m still being accused."
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