'Torture flights' plane allegedly based in Malta
'Torture flights' plane allegedly based in Malta By MaltaMedia News Jun 11, 2007 - 10:26:47 AM An aeroplane which has been repeatedly linked to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) extraordinary rendition flights is allegedly based in Malta, reported the Daily Mail. The newspaper said that a report by a European Parliament committee showed that CASA-212 Aviocar registered N964BW was on a list of "companies and aircraft used by the CIA for extraordinary rendition flights". According to the American Federal Aviation Authority, the plane is operated by two companies, Aviation World Wide Services and a sister company, Presidential Airways. The committee’s November report pointed that these shell are subsidiaries of Blackwater USA, described as "an important contractor for the CIA and the US military", which according to the Daily Mail bases its planes in Malta. The newspaper also reported that records show the plane is owned by Blackwater USA, a CIA contractor described as "the most secretive and powerful mercenary army on the planet". The plane was photographed and logged arriving at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the month, reported further the Daily Mail. It has been suggested that following its departure from Suffolk, the plane could have refuelled in East Anglia and then headed to its alleged base in Malta. Before touching down in Suffolk on Saturday 2nd June, tracking technology shows that the plane was en route from Canada to Greenland. Flight-tracking internet technology of the American Centre for Media and Democracy does not extend beyond American airspace, but an expert told the Daily Mail that its route would be consistent with a refuelling stop in the Arctic, followed by a further refuel in East Anglia, before heading to Malta. According to the newspaper, from there it could 'leapfrog' from United States bases in the former Soviet states bordering Afghanistan on to Kabul. On Friday, findings by the Council of Europe human rights organisation, accused United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair of colluding in a CIA operation to run secret prisons in Poland and Romania by allowing the agency to use UK airports. The study was contradicted on the same day by a report from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which concluded that there was no evidence to support the claims. But the Daily Mail reported that ACPO had admitted it restricted its inquiry to a review of media reports on the issue. In 2006, the British government had confirmed that Malta was one of the countries where CIA flights carrying terror suspects landed. The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Malta asked the US for information about these claims. Around the same time, Maltese newspaper L-orizzont had reported that between August 2001 and October 2005, 71 CIA flights were directed towards Europe, with eight of these landing in Malta. A report by the Council of Europe on the matter in June has excluded Malta from alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers. A supplementary report issued by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, referred to the conclusions of an investigation by pertinent Maltese authorities stating "that no Maltese public official or other persons acting in an official capacity have been involved by action or omission" in the alleged CIA flights and secret detention centres.
'Torture flights' plane allegedly based in Malta By MaltaMedia News Jun 11, 2007 - 10:26:47 AM An aeroplane which has been repeatedly linked to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) extraordinary rendition flights is allegedly based in Malta, reported the Daily Mail. The newspaper said that a report by a European Parliament committee showed that CASA-212 Aviocar registered N964BW was on a list of "companies and aircraft used by the CIA for extraordinary rendition flights". According to the American Federal Aviation Authority, the plane is operated by two companies, Aviation World Wide Services and a sister company, Presidential Airways. The committee’s November report pointed that these shell are subsidiaries of Blackwater USA, described as "an important contractor for the CIA and the US military", which according to the Daily Mail bases its planes in Malta. The newspaper also reported that records show the plane is owned by Blackwater USA, a CIA contractor described as "the most secretive and powerful mercenary army on the planet". The plane was photographed and logged arriving at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the month, reported further the Daily Mail. It has been suggested that following its departure from Suffolk, the plane could have refuelled in East Anglia and then headed to its alleged base in Malta. Before touching down in Suffolk on Saturday 2nd June, tracking technology shows that the plane was en route from Canada to Greenland. Flight-tracking internet technology of the American Centre for Media and Democracy does not extend beyond American airspace, but an expert told the Daily Mail that its route would be consistent with a refuelling stop in the Arctic, followed by a further refuel in East Anglia, before heading to Malta. According to the newspaper, from there it could 'leapfrog' from United States bases in the former Soviet states bordering Afghanistan on to Kabul. On Friday, findings by the Council of Europe human rights organisation, accused United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair of colluding in a CIA operation to run secret prisons in Poland and Romania by allowing the agency to use UK airports. The study was contradicted on the same day by a report from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which concluded that there was no evidence to support the claims. But the Daily Mail reported that ACPO had admitted it restricted its inquiry to a review of media reports on the issue. In 2006, the British government had confirmed that Malta was one of the countries where CIA flights carrying terror suspects landed. The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Malta asked the US for information about these claims. Around the same time, Maltese newspaper L-orizzont had reported that between August 2001 and October 2005, 71 CIA flights were directed towards Europe, with eight of these landing in Malta. A report by the Council of Europe on the matter in June has excluded Malta from alleged secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers. A supplementary report issued by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, referred to the conclusions of an investigation by pertinent Maltese authorities stating "that no Maltese public official or other persons acting in an official capacity have been involved by action or omission" in the alleged CIA flights and secret detention centres.