In August 2009 the existence of a secret prison close to Vilnius came to light. The prison was to be used in the CIA's 'Extraordinary Rendition' Programme. Although an investigative committee from the Lithuanian parliament was able to confirm its existence, it was not able to clarify whether or not  CIA prisoners were interrogated on Lithuanian soil. Taking into consideration the European involvement in the CIA secret programme, this conference will ask which legal steps can be taken  to further illuminate the facts of this case, and which might be employed to prosecute those responsible, should this become necessary.

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As of December 2009, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) monitors the current trials of former military officials in Argentinean federal courts. The defendants are charged with severe human rights violations committed from 1976 to 1983 under the military dictatorship.
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Trial Monitoring
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On 26 February 2010 the trial of those accused of torture and murder in the detention centre "El Versubio" was opened before the 4^th Federal Court in Buenos Aires. (Video soon with English subtitles.)
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Here you find the most recent video blog. Others are here, amongst others an interview with Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel.

On December 15th, the Nuremberg district court issued another arrest warrant for Jorge Rafael Videla, the former head of the Argentinean military junta that governed the country from 1976 until 1983, on the suspicion of having been involved in the murder of the German citizen Rolf Stawowiok.
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The Council of the European Union decided not to appeal against the European Court's decision of the 30th of September, 2009. Mr. Sison, politician and publicist living in exile in Holland and represented among others by ECCHR's general secretary Wolfgang Kaleck, has been put on the EU "terrorist list" in 2002, leading to the freezing of his assets. After seven years of legal battles, the European Court decided that the decision to put Mr. Sison on the list was unlawful and that his name has to be removed. Mr. Sison, however, has not received any compensation so far. Moreover, he remains listed in the US.

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On June 25th, 2009, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights submitted a formal communication to the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Prof. Manfred Nowak. In the communication, ECCHR accuses Austria of violating its duties under the Convention Against Torture by failing to investigate and act on accusations of torture leveled against President Kadyrov of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, when he visited Austria in June of 2008.

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