BRUSSELS, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The European Parliament Wednesday voted to set up a committee to look into allegations of secret CIA detention centers in Eastern Europe.
The assembly will appoint 46 members from all political groups to conduct
the European Union's first formal probe into the claims. The committee has been given four months to deliver its first report but holds no power to subpoena witnesses.
Parliament will work alongside the Council of Europe, the continent's human
rights watchdog, which is due to deliver its verdict on the allegations next week.
The 46 lawmakers will investigate claims that the American intelligence agency has run covert jails and used European airspace to transport suspected terrorists to countries where they could be subjected to torture. It will also try to establish whether European governments have been aware of such conduct and whether any EU citizens have been detained by the CIA illegally.
So far, all suspected Eastern European host countries have denied any
knowledge of alleged illegal American activity.
