More Human Rights Violations Under The US Flag

US Intelligence Agents Using Secret Prisons in Ethiopia

It is not enough that we have had our reputation stained by past errors in judgment and violations of international laws via our "extraordinary rendition" and Bush doctrine policies, now we have refugees that have suffered extreme inhumane conditions at the hand of their own governments and people being scooped up without warrants, probable cause or even reasonable suspicion and moved to secret facilities for interrogation in places where the laws do not protect prisoners and do not prohibit torture. Are we still perpetrating torture as an interrogation method, even when we know it does not produce reliable intelligence... It certainly appears to be the case.

United States intelligence agents from the FBI and the CIA have been using secret prisons in Ethiopia to conduct interrogations, according to AP Tuesday. The report alleges that men, women, and children from the neighboring African nations of Somalia and Kenya have been secretly transferred to Ethiopia for questioning by US officials, hunting Muslim extremists. Though officials in the Ethiopian government were quick to deny these allegations, western security officials stated they had prisoners with links to al-Qaeda in custody. Based on reports from human rights groups, AP reported that Kenyan authorities seized Somali refugees fleeing the recent violence in their country and then secretly flew them to Ethiopia for interrogation by US agents. The first abductee to speak out about her experiences, Kamilya Mohammedi Tuweni, said she was abducted and beaten in Kenya before being shipped to Ethiopia, where she was questioned by an American agent.

Human Rights Watch first claimed Saturday that the US, Kenya and Ethopia were cooperating with the transitional government of Somalia to detain refugees. "US security agents have routinely interrogated people held incommunicado," said Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch in Africa. Though the prisoners were primarily from the Horn of Africa, citizens of western nations such as Sweden, Canada, and even the United States are also said to be incarcerated in Ethiopia. If substantiated, secret jails and interrogations in Africa could prove an embarrassing counterpart to the US's European extraordinary rendition program.