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P R E S S R E L E A S E
W O R L D R I G H T S

Human Rights Advocacy Worldwide

For Immediate Release
Date: December 12, 2005
Contact: Timothy Cooper
Tel: 202.361.0989

UN ARBITRARY DETENTION WORKING GROUP TO INVESTIGATE US-ADMINISTERED "BLACK SITES" IN EUROPE; US GOVERNMENT HAS 90 DAYS TO RESPOND TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLAINT

Washington, DC--  In a communication received today by Worldrights , a Washington, D.C.-based NGO, the UN Arbitrary Detention Working Group of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that it had "transmitted to the Government of the United States the complaint [Worldrights] submitted concerning the alleged existence of US administered secret detention facilities around the world and the so-called 'black sites'." The communication also noted that "[o]ur communication also requested information about the 26 persons allegedly held in incommunicado detention in those facilities."

The existence of so-called "black sites" in Eastern Europe and Thailand was first reported by the Washington Post on November 2, 2005.

According to the Working Group's methods of work, the US Government has three months to submit its reply. The Working Group stated that it will consider Worldrights' case during its May 2006 45th session in Geneva, Switzerland.

"We are pleased that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has decided to investigate the existence of 'black sites' in Eastern Europe and Thailand and the unlawful treatment of individuals held at those sites," stated Timothy Cooper , Executive Director of Worldrights. "The fact that certain individuals-however heinous their alleged crimes or actions may have been-have been held incommunicado and without due process is a dark stain on America's reputation. International human rights standards must not fall victim to America's war on terror," Cooper concluded.

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