BRUSSELS, April 27 (UPI) -- Conservatives in the European Parliament have queried the body's first report on alleged illegal CIA activities.
The conservatives say the report on alleged rendition flights of captured terror suspects does not prove any wrongdoing by EU states.
"There are many indications of suspicious undertakings, but as a former attorney, I have to say that evidence must be irrefutable," said Gitte Seeberg, a Danish member of the temporary investigatory committee. "Second-hand testimonies and rumors are not enough. We need facts."
Seeberg also stressed that the committee should focus on European governments' actions instead of trying to blame the United States. "This investigation is not about Guantanamo, the war in Iraq or the actions of the CIA. We are not investigating the Americans. We are investigating ourselves", she said in a statement. "This is about how we Europeans respect our own principles and rules governing human rights".
The EU assembly Wednesday released its first interim report on allegations that the American intelligence agency abducted and unlawfully extradited terrorist suspects from the 25 member states. It claimed the CIA had flown over 1000 undeclared flights over European Union territory since 2001. The committee's final report is due in June.
