Another CIA torture plane refuelled at
Shannon.
international |
anti-war | news report
Monday December 03, 2007 22:53
by Edward Horgan 
N71PG at Shannon
A CIA controlled Learjet reg no N71PG
was refuelled at dawn this morning at Shannon and made a hasty exit
within the hour. It had been due two hours earlier, in the hours of
darkness as usual.
Unlike the two other CIA planes recently
refuelled at Shannon, Gulfstream N476LC refuelled on 30 Oct 07 and
Gulfstream N478GS refuelled on 30 Nov 07, both of which were notorious
torture rendition planes, we know very little about N71PG so far. Please
carry out some research and try and dig up its CIA history. We should
remember that when the now infamous N379P, known as the Guantanamo
Express was first seen at Shannon and logged on indymedia by Tim
Hourigan, we were not even aware of the CIA torture rendition programme.
Such murky and gross violations of human rights are by their very nature
very difficult to expose.
CIA Rendition Plane N71PG at Shannon 3 Dec 2007
When I arrived at Shannon airport to check on the
latest CIA arrival at 07.55 am on Mon 3 Dec 07, it was already on the
ground being refuelled, and located just in front of the security and fire
brigade buildings. I phone Shannon garda station and spoke to Sgt Noel
McMahon, and requested that he have this plane searched by gardai. He gave
me the usual guff about needing concrete “proof” of prisoners on board the
plane before gardai could search the plane. He even cited the fact that
gardai could not search my home just on the basis of reports or complaints
by neighbours. He is wrong of course. Gardai can get warrants to search
private homes if there is reasonable suspicion of that house is being used
for criminal purposes.
An example that has been reported to me
occurred in December 2006. I am informed that an automatic pistol went
missing from a US military or air force plane at Shannon. Gardai got a
warrant to search the home of an employee at Shannon airport, and arrested
the individual and held him for questioning for about 36 hours. The only
concrete “proof” or “evidence” that a gun was missing was that a US
soldier had reported that his pistol was missing. It has been reported
that the US military have managed to “loose” over 100,000 weapons
including very many automatic rifles in Iraq, that have probably fallen
into the hands of insurgents, so one more pistol lost seems insignificant
by comparison.
The crime of torture is far more serious than the loss
or possible theft of one pistol. Yet the gardai need “proof that will
stand up in court” that prisoners are on board the CIA planes at Shannon,
before they will even look through the windows or doors of the plane. I
have discovered separately that gardai at Shannon are being very careful
not to be caught or photographed on protection duty on CIA planes at
Shannon, in case they are accused of protecting tortures. However, they
normally do protection duty on all US military planes at Shannon, in spite
of the fact that more than half of the prisoners at Guantanamo were
transported there on US military planes, rather than on CIA jets.
I now want to make an appeal.
We need volunteers to assist in
the process of monitoring US military and CIA planes at Shannon airport.
Our team of monitors has been successfully reduced by garda harassment and
abuse of the courts system by gardai. These are the same gardai that are
daily refusing to comply with the Criminal Justice (UN Convention Against
Torture Act) 2002, by failing to investigate and prevent complicity in the
crime of torture at Shannon airport.
I would also ask that comments
and postings on this topic in indymedia be confined to the broader issues
of the gross human rights abuses inflicted on prisoners under the US
rendition for torture programme, and to the specifics of what is happening
at Shannon. The airing of personal grievance against the justice systems
in Ireland and elsewhere, should be kept for another forum or separate
indymedia postings. The abuses inflicting on many of these prisoners
include execution at the end of the torture process. The airing by
individuals of their own lesser personal injustices distracts from our
efforts to prevent the crimes of torture being facilitated at Shannon
airport.
We need volunteers urgently to carry out research on the
internet, and to engage in monitoring at Shannon airport on a more regular
basis. Surely from a population of over 4 million people, it should be
possible to find more that a few people to monitor and report on the
crimes of torture.
Please contact me at edward.horgan@ul.ie if you
have time to spend either on research or monitory CIA and US military
planes. If you can’t spare a few hours, then God Bless You.
Remember
the story from the Nazi era, “when they came for me, there was no one left
to protest on my behalf”.
N71PG parked at Shannon airport security
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Comments (19 of 19)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19From "Monday December 03, 2007 22:53" above:
"These are the same gardai that are daily refusing to comply with the Criminal Justice (UN Convention Against Torture Act) 2002, by failing to investigate and prevent complicity in the crime of torture at Shannon airport."
Are they breaking the law by doing so?
If so, why are they not being hauled before the courts of law?
We (the Republic of Ireland) have our own CRIMINAL JUSTICE (UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE) ACT, 2000 (please see http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2000/en/act/pub/0011/index.html )
The legal situation regarding the "acquiescence of a public official" seems very clear (to me), and it is set out in Article 1.1 of the above mentioned Act.
Though I continue to value your reports (very much), it concerns me that they may well be taken to mean (by many) that it is somehow OKAY for SOME people (our POLICE in this case) to break the law with impunity.
This mindset about it being okay for some people to break the law, is one which we in the Republic of Ireland DESPERATELY need to fully decommission as soon as possible (in my view): not encourage, distract from, or support in any way.
Best wishes with your efforts nonetheless.
Related link:
http://www.europeancourtofhumanrightswilliamfinnerty.com/ChiefJusticeMurray/28August2007/Letter.htm
This part of the documentary 'Taking Liberties' gives more insight into the US rendition programme . Worth 10 minutes of your time. Insightful.
Generally the whole documentary is very good and can be viewed on youtube. A vision of were Ireland could be heading in the very near future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j21rcnJ3EO8
See the evil, hear the evil, speak the evil:
http://66.93.183.118:8247/tair/airport.jsp?id=2309
William,
Ed's comments above, just in case the message has not completely gotten through to you, it to impart to you the message to "go away"!
You have persistently used various threads on this site to advance your sometimes, it has to be said, rediculous and far fetched allegations. Can you now do the decent thing and GO AWAY. This is a serious thread on a very serious issue!!
ED,
Do you have any information on when the Human Rights Commission is to publish its latest report on the issue. I am told it is to be quite soon?
Many thanks,
brilliant short movies,cleverly crafted to show what we have signed up for by allowing lawless fascist governments in power. " Rendair! -the ultimate lowcost airline, on routes which include all the torture hotspots. We regret to announce you wont be able to watch the onflight movie, as you will have a bag over your head!...Why torture people at home when its cheaper to torture abroad?!"
Re a busload of women prevented from protesting at Fairford- "...they did'nt want any trouble to highlight what was going on in the base. The US military had said they were prepared to open fire should anyone breach the perimiter fence"
and Tony Blair who has " dismantled our basic liberties. Who is to blame for this seeming permanent state of fear? the government the police the media or us?
We are the democratic process, so we have to start behaving like we are..."
- " Everyone do the post 9/11 dance" great work. thanks for that link.
In the past few months two CIA linked planes were discovered carrying between them 9 tons of cocaine in Mexico. One of those planes was used to ferry kidnapped torture victims and had stopped at Shannon. Yet, the Gardai are directed not to investigate these planes who land and take off in the full knowledge they will not be inspected. Now, it is a well established fact that the CIA is a drug smuggling gang as well as a murder, kidnap, torture and terrorist gang so who are they allowed travel through Ireland uninspected? Because our government and senior Gardai are part of the same gang, is why. There is no other credible explanation.
like one big advert for it per week - i think the hangover is about to kick in
William
I think the IHRC Report is due out at the end of this month. I hope it will be of some value. they are severly limited by the legislation that set them up, but are a genuine bunch of people otherwise as far as I know.
Jo,
you wrote: "In the past few months two CIA linked planes were discovered carrying between them 9 tons of cocaine in Mexico. One of those planes was used to ferry kidnapped torture victims and had stopped at Shannon. "
I need as much information as possible on these CIA planes in Mexico, especially their registration numbers. Please sent it to edward.horgan@ul.ie.
thanks
This should be of interest to those with an interest in constitutional matters and human rights.
Constitutions should play a very important part in protecting human rights. However, the abuses of the US constitution and the Irish constitution have led to most serious abuses of human rights.
Edward
"The Most Important Case of the Decade" - Tomorrow! Take Action to Move Beyond Guantánamo!
From: CCR (actions@ccrjustice.org)
You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as unsafe
Sent: 04 December 2007 20:18:35
Reply-to: ccr@mail.democracyinaction.org
To: edward_horgan@hotmail.com
center for constitutional rights
Dear Edward ,
Tomorrow, December 5, the Center for Constitutional Rights will return to the Supreme Court for part III of what The New York Times has called "the most important civil rights case in 50 years." Please go to our website to learn more about the arguments and principles at stake in this Guantánamo case.You can also listen to the arguments in real time tomorrow on C-SPAN radio beginning at 11:15 EST.
In the lead up to this historic argument, CCR has been undertaking a major campaign to highlight the importance of this case. As part of this campaign we produced a television ad featuring actor and activist Danny Glover speaking about Bush administration's destruction of the Constitution. This ad was rejected by Fox News, their explanation being that we could "not document that Bush is in fact 'destroying' the Constitution." It is airing tonight in the DC area on CNN and MSNBC.
Read more and watch the video.
But the serious story behind the ad is CCR's historic case before the Supreme Court, which will in all likelihood determine once and for all whether there is a constitutional right to habeas corpus - that is, a fair hearing before a real court - for everyone detained by the U.S. government at Guantánamo.
Read more about Al Odah v. United States and Boumediene v. Bush here.
This new case goes Beyond Guantánamo - we are directly challenging President Bush's unprecedented power grab, his use of torture in violation of domestic and international law, and his assertion that he can hold anyone indefinitely anywhere in the world on his word alone. The case also challenges the 2006 Republican Congress's attempt to clear his way with its passage of the Military Commissions Act.
In 2004, CCR won the first Guantánamo Supreme Court case - Rasul v. Bush - when the Supreme Court ruled that the men at Guantánamo have the fundamental right to challenge their detention.
Even though you're not in D.C. to see the arguments, you can still take action to make sure that our rights - and our Constitution - are rescued from the hands of the Bush administration, where they have been systematically shredded for the past seven years:
Send President Bush a copy of the Constitution (something he seems to have forgotten about);
Watch the controversial video with Danny Glover that was rejected by Fox News;
Watch other videos of Eve Ensler and Vanessa Redgrave speaking out against Guantánamo and forward them to your friends and family; or
Attend a local event tomorrow, check our calendar of events for actions near you.
We need your help to restore the damage done to our most basic rights: join us today and take action to Rescue the Constitution. Let's move Beyond Guantánamo.
Take
Action
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To unsubscribe from this list reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line
Center for Constitutional Rights ll 666 Broadway 7th floor NY, NY 10012 ll 212-614-6464 ll www.ccrjustice.org
Jo,
The number of the plane that crashed in Mexico with a couple of tons of drugs, seems to have been Gulfstream N987SA, but I can find no record yet of it being at Shannon. let me know if you find otherwise
Ed
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/84652
On this video John Kerry, Police Detectives and former DEA agents tell about the CIA operations that smuggled cocaine into the US with White House appoval. These guys (CIA) are the scum of the earth and we let their planes land and take off without inspection!!!! Of course people here are tied up in the gang. The reason they got away with it in the US is because DEA and other agencies were told to turn a bling eye. The Gardai have also been told to turn a blind eye. 'Assurances' given by Ollie North types in the US Embassy in Ballsbridge are accepted. What boloney!
I don't believe that the US is using Shannon to rendition prisoners though I believe that the US does rendition prisoners.
I believe that Ed Horgan and his friends are a bunch of powerless fantasists who wish that they could influence American foreign policy all the way from little old Ireland and drizzly Shannon. I believe that secretly they would love to have been born American so they could protest outside the steps of Capitol Hill like modern Jimmy Stewarts in Washington instead they have to make do with the Dail on a wet Kildare Street in boring old Dublin. The Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, the Darfur Genocide, Burmese dicatatorship, Socialism v American Imperialism in South American, Israe v Palestine etc etc. have practically nothing to do with Ireland.
The importance of Shannon to pen pushers in Washington is probably the same as some airfield on Easter Island.
I don't think neo-cons know or care less what Irish people think:
"There's an anti-war movement in Ireland? Really? Hmmm!" an lowly intern in the basement of the Pentagon might exclaim after skimming over indymedia in between searches for Barely Legal College Co-eds on google.
Wouldn't it be great if just once the Darth Vaders in Washington could notice us just once and oppress us Ed?
Edward (at Tue Dec 04, 2007 23:12),
By "IHRC" I assume you mean the "Irish Human Rights Commission" (at http://www.ihrc.ie/home/default.asp ).
All of my experience with the IHRC suggests they are unable to help in any MEANINGFUL way with human rights abuses - at least not at the present time.
As often (always?) seems to be the case with such government backed (and funded I assume) organisations, they appear to me (at the present time at least) as nothing more than a "Window Dressing" type of operation - which has been put in place by the State to create and maintain the illusion (for general public consumption) that the Republic of Ireland takes human rights seriously; and, as such, unfortunately, they are (in effect), and without meaning to perhaps (as individuals), part of the PROBLEM (of human rights abuse), and most definitely NOT part of the solution (in my view).
Put another way, the Irish Human Rights Commission (as I see things) can "talk the talk" all right: but, they can't "walk the walk" - which is what really matters, and the ONLY thing that really counts (in my view) as far as the actual VICTIMS of human rights abuse (such as myself for example) are concerned.
Being "genuine" is not enough; those involved with the Irish Human Rights Commission also need to be able "to take the bull by the horns": and to deal EFFECTIVELY with the actual PRACTICAL problems of human rights abuse which they are informed about on a day-to-day basis (by Republic of Ireland citizens, such as myself for example).
Please note that Michael Farrell (Lawyer & Irish Human Rights Commissioner) is among those in the "CC" list of the registered e-mail letter I sent to our Chief Justice John L. Murray on August 28th 2007 at http://www.europeancourtofhumanrightswilliamfinnerty.com/ChiefJusticeMurray/28August2007/Letter.htm
However, I have not heard a SINGLE word from Mr Farrell to date: a fact which speaks for itself I feel.
Far worse of course, neither have I heard a single word from our Chief Justice John L. Murray, nor from any of his senior law officer colleagues.
Dear Mr William Finnerty,
I am asking you to please stop using and misusing these anti war and CIA torture rendition news items to highlight your own personnal issues. You are free to make separate posting on your own issues if you wish, but you are abusing the INDYMEDIA process by your postings on these issues.
You are also interfering with genuine attempts to protect the human rights of prisoners who are being tortured on a daily basis.
Edward Horgan
FAA-records (maybe not complete):
N987SA 10.10.2002 from Farmingdale, NY to Shannon
N987SA 20.10.2002 from Firenze, Italy to Shannon
N987SA 20.10.2002 from Shannon to Gander, NF
N987SA 14.07.2003 from Annecy, France to Shannon
N987SA 17.07.2003 from Edinburgh, UK to Dublin
N987SA 19.07.2003 from Dublin to Manston, UK
N987SA had suspected flights into Europe but at the moment there is no evidence of transporting prisoners. Flights to Guantanamo started all from US. But Operator of N987SA until 2005 was Presidential Aviation, which kidnapped Maher Arar in 2002 with plane N829MG.
All known flight data of N987SA:
http://www.softlabhennef.mynetcologne.de/CIA-Flights/N987SA.zip
Stories (in German) with deep links
:
http://worldcontent.twoday.net/stories/4293297/
http://worldcontent.twoday.net/stories/4341410/
http://worldcontent.twoday.net/stories/4385599/
http://worldcontent.twoday.net/stories/4397343/
Edward,
I'm very grateful to you for the views you have related above at "Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:42".
Please note though that I personally do not share all of the views you have expressed.
I trust you will understand, and that it will be okay with you for me to hold views (different from yourself) on some issues.
... that compels our need to search these planes/evidence.
In my opinion a lot of folk including our evasive (to put it mildly) government are under the impression or giving it out, that searching CIA torture planes would solely facilitate the Gardaí checking to see if prisoners were on board at the time of the search.
Whilst it is quite possible that a search might produce some poor kidnap victim, it is undeniable that these planes and the personnell who fly them have perpetrated crimes. That they have perpetrated crimes is beyond dispute, even Bertie and his clique have condemned rendition. I suggest that in all fairness, that the least action that must be done is to search the planes for evidence of the crimes we know to have been committed and evidence is a lot broader that just finding a kidnap victim, evidence that proves the kidnap is relevant too. Rather than that, we should seize these planes as evidence and hold any personnell as either witnesses or suspects. We have the obligation to enforce national and international laws, regardless to the US's flouting of them and our own government's wilful ignorance of them.
are you going to find irrefutable evidence that this aircraft has been involved in these supposed crimes ???? Are you hoping to find a carelessly forgotten set of manacles??? A chap sitting there with no shirtand tight black pants and a black hood??? Do you honestly think that the CIA,or whomever is going to be that foolish and leave evidence lying around???
You can be double damn sure that the plane is sterile of all evidence returning here.If it is not a total
decoy to dupe the gulliable into beliving it is still flying terrorist suspects.Which it proably is,as the CIA has access to litterally hundreds of aircraft,and are proably flying the suspects merrily in another aircraft.
So you are going to create a diplomatic incident by arresting a US crew and impounding a aircraft on the "suspicion" that it might be involved in a crime and on the say so of a disgruntled ex comdt of the Irish army and his radical American hating friends ???Hmmm, I see a bunch of Irish illegal expatriates being arrested for suspicion of comitting terrorist activities in the US within 24 hours of this happening.Who has more to lose here the US or Ireland???That's right ..we do.
IOW ,get to read up more on procedure,due process of Irish and intl law,evidence and securing thereof,and maybe then it will sound more logical to us out here.