ISTANBUL, 27 November 2005 — A plane suspected of being used by the CIA to transport US prisoners from the “war on terror” landed in the Turkish capital last week to refuel, a report said yesterday.
Transport Minister Binali Yildirim told the Anatolia news agency that a CIA plane had “put down” at the Sabiha Gokcen airport here, confirming a report published earlier yesterday by the Hurriyet daily.
“There was a landing requested for technical reasons. It’s landing was authorized. It was not carrying any passengers — only equipment was on board,” the minister was quoted as saying.
“It filled its tanks with fuel and continued in its way,” he said, adding that when planes request landings to refuel it is difficult to refuse them.
Hurriyat reported that the plane identified as a DeHavilland Dash 8-315B, registered to Path Corporation, landed on Nov. 15 and departed the following day for Amsterdam.
Washington has come under mounting European pressure to reveal the routes and activities of its CIA prisoner flights amid concerns about human rights abuses and torture on European territory.
Reports of Central Intelligence Agency flights have come from countries as far apart as Macedonia, Finland and Portugal.
The Council of Europe said Wednesday it was opening a probe into the reports.
The council’s member states have until Feb. 21 next year to provide information to the inquiry, which will examine governments’ compliance with European human rights law and whether officials have been involved in “unacknowledged” detentions or transport of detainees.
