Human Rights Watch: Romania must tell the truth about the illegal CIA prisons, before being forced by eventual USA unveilings

Romania must tell the truth in the case of the clandestine CIA prisons, is the imperative demand of the Human Rights Watch director, Tom Malinowski. In case Romania did host illegal prisons and this thing is unveiled in the US, as a result of the administration change, Romanian officials will suffer the consequences, the human rights protection organization says.

If Romania was involved in that program, it would be better to assume responsibility now, before being forced by eventual unveilings in the US, Malinowski says, adding that the new president is willing to shut down Guantanamo, in order to end the torture and put a stop to the practice of having secret prisons, the HRW official says.

In an interview for RFI, Malinowski underlines that fact that the Obama administration will unveil, one way or the other, facts about the places where terrorism suspects were held. It is important for Romania to understand that there in such thing as permanent secrets.

The scandal of the CIA prisons burst in 2005, after The Washington Post announced that CIA put up a series of secret prisons in Eastern Europe and other areas, in order to interrogate Al-Qaeda members. In November 2005, Human Rights Watch indicated Poland and Romania as certain locations for secret CIA-managed detention facilities.

The European and the Romanian Parliament opened investigations in the case. Romanian parliamentarians reached the conclusion that Romania didn’t host such facilities.