JURIST - Paper Chase: Poland ex-PM denies knowledge of CIA secret prison

[JURIST] Former Polish prime minister Leszek Miller on Tuesday denied any knowledge of a secret CIA prison [JURIST news archive] in Poland. Miller's denial came after a former CIA agent confirmed that the agency tortured [Spiegel report] alleged USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri [NYT profile] in 2002 at a secret prison in Poland. According to the agent, al-Nashiri was stripped naked and hooded before a gun and a drill were held close to his head. In addition to denying the existence of the prisons, Miller also stated that he believes claims of the prisons will jeopardize the safety of Polish citizens [Polskie Radio report] and members of the military currently serving in Afghanistan. Former Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski has also denied the existence of the prisons. Both he and Miller maintain that they will not discuss the allegations of torture until the completion of an investigation into Poland's role in the US prisoner rendition [JURIST news archive] program.

In September 2008, the Polish government launched an investigation [JURIST report] into the allegations of a CIA-operated secret prison in the country. Allegations against Poland came in a June 2007 report [text; JURIST report] to the Council of Europe [official website] by Swiss Senator Dick Marty. The report concluded that numerous European governments had cooperated with the CIA program. In February 2007, the European Parliament condemned more than a dozen European states [JURIST report] for their roles in the program. Several nations have been accused of obstructing European probes into the secret prison allegations, including Poland [JURIST report], which allegedly housed the largest CIA detention facility in Europe [JURIST report].