Lawyer: CIA paid Romania, got prisons
BUCHAREST, Romania — The CIA paid Romania “millions of dollars” to host secret prisons, a human-rights lawyer said Wednesday as the European Court of Human Rights heard accusations that Romania allowed the agency to torture terrorism suspects in a secret program under President George W. Bush.
Amrit Singh said in court that the CIA had prisons in Romania from 2003-2005 with the government’s “acquiescence and connivance,” something authorities have denied.
Singh said her client, Saudi Arabian Abd al-Rahim Al Nashiri, was shackled, deprived of sleep and subjected to loud noise and bright lights at a Bucharest prison in 2004. He is currently in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Romanian government representative Catrinel Brumar countered that it takes more than “hints and speculation to establish the state’s responsibilities.” She said an investigation was ongoing.
Singh said after the hearing that Romania was “obfuscating and in denial” in its arguments.
The court said it would rule in a few months on whether Romania knowingly allowed CIA secret prisons where torture occurred, and whether it failed to prevent the torture of Singh’s client.
The purported presence of CIA secret prisons remains a sensitive subject in Romania, a U.S. ally that at the time was seeking support from Washington to join NATO, which it did in 2004.
Israeli sub-Cabinet OKs ties with Turkey
JERUSALEM — Israel’s security Cabinet on Wednesday approved the reconciliation agreement reached this week with Turkey, despite opposition from some ministers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ministers voted 7-3 to restore full diplomatic ties with Turkey.
Some in Israel have criticized the pact, officially announced Monday, because it failed to secure the return of the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza and possibly two living Israeli citizens believed to be held in the territory by the militant Hamas group.
The Cabinet said it will reconsider the imprisonment conditions of Hamas prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Turkey has shared close ties with Hamas.
Killed put at 50 in new S. Sudan fighting
JUBA, South Sudan — More than 50 people have been killed in fighting between a rebel group and government troops in a remote town in South Sudan, a church official said Wednesday.
Moses Peter, humanitarian coordinator of the Caritas Diocese of Wau, said he had seen 50 bodies at a mortuary in Wau, a town about 400 miles northwest of the capital, Juba.
Thousands of people were taking shelter at churches, aid group sites and a United Nations peacekeeping base, Peter said.
“The army, which is patrolling the streets here, has asked people to return to their homes, but the displaced are still in fear,” he said. “They do not want to return to their homes because they do not trust the army because they say it is the army that killed civilians.”
South Sudan’s government said Tuesday that a new rebel group had formed months after the leader of another rebel group signed a peace deal to end a civil war.
The new group includes former government troops, fighters from a Ugandan-led rebel group, and a Sudanese militia.
Relief agencies were providing emergency assistance to displaced people in Wau after intense fighting last week, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Russian vows response to NATO buildup
MOSCOW — Russia’s defense minister said Wednesday that the military will respond in kind to NATO’s buildup near Russian borders.
Sergei Shoigu said the deployment of additional NATO units and weapons in eastern Europe “has undermined strategic stability.” He voiced concern that NATO’s activities near Russia’s borders could expand further after the alliance’s summit in July.
Shoigu said NATO’s moves have prompted Russia to take countermeasures, adding that Russia’s western military district will receive 2,000 new weapons units this year. He noted that as part of the response to NATO’s buildup, Russia’s Baltic fleet has received new ships and other weapons and the military has formed a new army corps to support it.
NATO has rotated weapons and troops to reassure its eastern members as tensions persist with Russia.