New allegations in CIA prison scandal
The prosecutor's office is investigating allegations that there was a CIA prison on Polish soil where al Qaeda suspects were questioned and possibly tortured, according to media reporting that a classified note has surfaced that proves the existence of the prisons.
Polish media reported on Friday that a classified note written by the Polish secret service proves the existence of a US Central Intelligence Agency base in Poland. According to Gazeta Wyborcza's sources, the note was written between 2005 and 2006 as a result of an article in the Washington Post stating that CIA prisons exist in Europe. Couple of days later, Human Rights Watch named Poland and Romania as two countries that hosted the prisons.
"I am not familiar with such a note and I don't think Prime Minister Donald Tusk is either," Sławomir Nowak said in an interview with Tok FM radio. "But the premier asked the justice minister to clarify this matter and the country's prosecutor's office is investigating the potential existence of the CIA prison."
Foreign and local media have speculated that the base was operational between 2002 and 2005, while Aleksander Kwaśniewski was president and Poland was run by the leftist government of Leszek Miller and then Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz. All three have denied any knowledge of prisons.
PM notified
Gazeta Wyborcza reported that Prime Minister Donald Tusk was informed by Deputy Prime Minister PiS Roman Giertych about the existence of the note. "I told Tusk that if he wins the elections, I will inform him of an important issue regarding interior state security," Giertych told the daily.
Meanwhile, former deputy head from the Office for State Protection (UOP)Piotr Niemczyk told TVN24 in an interview that he does not believe there were CIA prisons on Polish soil.
"I believe in the notes. I'm sure there were many," said Niemczyk. "It's hard to prove that such prisons existed, and even harder that they didn't. I am certain that they didn't exist," he added.
Sources: Reuters, Gazeta Wyborcza, TVN24
