Polish reporters claim CIA jail evidence

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WARSAW, Poland, April 15 (UPI) -- Polish journalists claim they have uncovered new evidence that Poland allegedly leased a military base to the United States for a clandestine CIA prison.

Reporters of Polish Television and the Rzeczpospolita daily said the evidence included documents and witness statements that were part of a Polish judicial investigation to determine whether the alleged CIA prison undermined the country's sovereignty, the EUobserver reported Wednesday.

The journalists said the Polish government in December 2001 reportedly leased a section of the Stare Kiejkuty military base in northwest Poland to the CIA, and assigned 20 secret agents to assist U.S. officials in anti-terrorist activities.

U.S. planes began secret flights to the Szymany airport close to the military base in December 2002 and at least five planes landed in Szymany in 2003.

A witness giving evidence to the Polish investigation reportedly said in 2003 he spotted people, handcuffed and blindfolded, being led from a plane.

In previous years, the European Commission and the Council of Europe accused Poland of collusion but found no hard evidence to sanction alleged human rights violations, EUobserver said.