June 26, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 108 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E842-E843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RENDITION & TORTURE: AN ACCOUNTING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2019

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise to include in the 
Record the executive summary of the North Carolina Commission of 
Inquiry on Torture's (NCCIT) seminal report, Torture Flights: North 
Carolina's Role in the CIA's Rendition and Torture Program. I do so 
today in recognition of the United Nation's ``International Day in 
Support of Victims of Torture,'' and to emphasize the continuing role 
of Congress as well as informed and engaged citizens in bringing to 
light the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Rendition, Detention, and 
Interrogation (RDI) program.
  I am reminded of this important duty by an exceptional group of North 
Carolinians who established NCCIT--a non-governmental and non-partisan 
commission--to investigate North Carolina's participation in the CIA's 
RDI program following the September 11 attacks, which is described in 
its September 2018 report.
  The report found that in the first stage of the RDI program, a 
private company based in North Carolina used publicly-funded 
infrastructure to conduct over 80 percent of identified CIA rendition 
flights from September 2001 to March 2004. North Carolina public 
infrastructure was therefore involved in the detention and rendition of 
at least 49 individuals, without regard for the rule of law or due 
process. According to the report, some of these individuals turned out 
not to be involved in terrorism and have yet to receive official 
acknowledgement or redress, and some of these individuals continue to 
suffer from their mistreatment.

[[Page E843]]

  This report complements the Senate Intelligence Committee's 2014 
report on the RDI program, which found that the CIA's ``enhanced 
interrogation techniques'' were not effective, that the program was 
poorly managed, and that the CIA misled Congress and the public. I 
commend Senator Dianne Feinstein and the other Committee members and 
staff who worked on this report, and I applaud NCCIT for their 
steadfast commitment to bringing transparency and accountability to the 
State of North Carolina's involvement in these activities.
  Even in our darkest moments, we must always uphold core American 
values, including respect for the rule of law and human rights. I 
encourage my colleagues to read NCCIT's report, including its 
recommendations for local, state, and federal officials, so that we may 
learn from the mistakes of the past and chart a more promising course 
for the future.

Torture Flights: North Carolina's Role in the CIA Rendition and Torture 
                       Program--Executive Summary

            North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture

        In the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. 
     government ushered in a large-scale program of secret 
     detention and torture that relied significantly on the State 
     of North Carolina. Six days after the attacks, President 
     George W. Bush signed a covert memorandum that authorized the 
     Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to seize, detain, and 
     interrogate suspected terrorists around the world. This 
     report investigates North Carolina's role in that illegal 
     program.
       The program made use of Department of Defense facilities, a 
     network of ten CIA-controlled secret prisons or black sites 
     in six countries, and the facilities of foreign governments. 
     In what was called the Rendition, Detention, and 
     Interrogation (RDI) program, the CIA abducted and imprisoned 
     at least 119 individuals before the practice was officially 
     ended and repudiated by Executive Order in 2009. Given that 
     detainees were also handed over to foreign governments, and 
     the secrecy surrounding the program, the number of affected 
     individuals is likely far higher.
       Within weeks of the RDI program's authorization, Aero 
     Contractors, Ltd. (Aero), based in Smithfield, NC, began 
     operating the first of two aircraft for extraordinary, or 
     violent and secret, renditions. Between September 2001 and 
     March 2004, Aero-operated aircraft--a Gulfstream V turbojet 
     and Boeing 737 business jet--were used in more than 80% of 
     identified RDI renditions. Over the full length of the 
     program, Aero transported 34 of the known 119 CIA prisoners, 
     plus at least 15 of those sent by the CIA to foreign custody, 
     on 69 identified rendition circuits. These flights, using 
     North Carolina's public infrastructure and flown by its 
     citizens, implicate North Carolina directly in abduction, 
     forced disappearance, and torture.
       Since 2005, North Carolina anti-torture activists from 
     across the political spectrum have protested these actions. 
     Motivated by diverse ethical and religious beliefs as well as 
     a firm commitment to the rule of law, activists from North 
     Carolina Stop Torture Now have joined with the North Carolina 
     Council of Churches and many other allies. Citizens have 
     pressured public officials at all levels of government to 
     investigate the state's complicity in the CIA's illegal and 
     immoral program.
       Citizen-led activism culminated in 2015 in the creation of 
     the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture (NCCIT), 
     a non-governmental organization dedicated to transparency and 
     accountability regarding the state's participation in U.S. 
     torture. The NCCIT launched officially in 2017 with a blue-
     ribbon panel of Commissioners who have expertise in domestic 
     and international law, military operations, human rights, 
     interfaith religious dialogue, psychology, and public health.
       The Commission initiated a large-scale investigation into 
     North Carolina's involvement in torture and rendition. 
     Torture Flights: North Carolina's role in the CIA rendition 
     and torture program details the results of that investigation 
     and makes recommendations for future action. The report draws 
     on original research and expert testimony provided at public 
     hearings as well as the extensive data compiled by The 
     Rendition Project, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 
     and the Human Rights Policy Lab of the University of North 
     Carolina School of Law, among other sources.
       Torture Flights provides the most comprehensive research to 
     date on North Carolina's complicity in the rendition phase of 
     the RDI program. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 
     ``Torture Report,'' a redacted Executive Summary of which was 
     released in 2014 while the full report remains classified, 
     focused on the detention and interrogation of detainees who 
     were held in CIA custody. Torture Flights demonstrates that 
     that program depended upon both North Carolina's private 
     citizens and public infrastructure.
       Further, Torture Flights builds on the Senate's work by 
     addressing renditions themselves as an integral component of 
     a system to break individuals down through violent 
     interrogations. As the report details, Aero transported at 
     least 49 individuals, who were forcibly seized without any 
     due process, in a manner that itself amounted to torture and 
     cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Preparation for 
     ``rendition'' involved physical and sometimes sexual assault, 
     drugging, and sensory deprivation. Rendition flights were 
     experiences of prolonged pain, dread, and terror. The 
     whereabouts of the individuals flown by Aero, who were 
     citizens of 16 countries and included a 16-year-old student 
     and a pregnant woman, were not disclosed, not even to their 
     families. They were ``disappeared'' for months if not years, 
     causing agony to them and their loved ones. Even today, the 
     fates of eight of those rendered by Aero remain unknown.
       Many of the prisoners were taken to CIA ``black sites,'' 
     where they experienced beatings, prolonged stress positions, 
     temperature extremes, long-term isolation, various water 
     tortures, mock execution, and sexual abuse. In violation of 
     international law, the CIA transported some prisoners to 
     foreign custody where they were subject to torture and abuse. 
     Kidnapping, torture, and secret detention occurred without 
     respect for victims' innocence or guilt and absent any legal 
     process for them to contest their abductions.
       Survivors of the RDI program and their families continue to 
     suffer from these experiences. Torture and prolonged 
     detention have left lasting physical, emotional, and social 
     injuries. This in turn harms relationships and livelihoods, 
     which then amplifies the psychological damage. To resume 
     meaningful and secure lives, survivors need medical, 
     psychological and social support, guaranteed legal status, 
     and economic opportunity.
       This report also carefully considers the moral and legal 
     responsibility of North Carolina for its involvement in CIA-
     sponsored activities. The federal government has 
     international law obligations under both the Convention 
     Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and 
     Political Rights not only to prevent torture, but also to 
     provide accountability and redress for torture. It did none 
     of these and therefore has failed to meet its international 
     obligations. Given that the federal government has abdicated 
     responsibility, North Carolina can and should fill the gap. 
     Its role as home to Aero obligates it to do so. State and 
     federal laws against conspiracy and corruption are among 
     those instruments that apply to Aero's activities.
       As this report documents, Aero's central role in the CIA 
     rendition and torture program is beyond dispute. But instead 
     of holding Aero accountable, the State of North Carolina and 
     Johnston County until now have effectively endorsed its 
     activities. This support has taken the form of hosting the 
     company's headquarters at the Johnston County Airport and 
     providing it with various airport and other county services. 
     Since Aero's participation in criminal abduction and assault 
     was publicly revealed, the State of North Carolina has made 
     several grants to the county airport, at least one of which 
     was specifically used to fortify the perimeter of only Aero's 
     corner of the facility.
       Torture Flights concludes with specific recommendations 
     directed at federal and state officials as well as toward 
     North Carolina citizens, whose engagement has kept the 
     spotlight on Aero's activities and whose continued attention 
     is needed to ensure accountability. The recommendations seek 
     to increase transparency about the program and accountability 
     for the illegal actions; provide acknowledgment, redress and 
     reparations to its victims; and prevent the future use of 
     torture. As the report notes, additional research is also 
     needed on the involvement of other North Carolina private 
     corporations and public airports in extraordinary renditions 
     in order to complete the record of the RDI program. At the 
     broadest level, the goal is to ensure that neither the 
     federal government nor the state of North Carolina engage in 
     or support torture again.

     

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