No CIA Black Sites Here, Says Romania

Romania is adamant that there have never been secret CIA prisons on its soil. The proclamation comes after the Council of Europe's Human Rights chief accused the country of housing the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's so-called black sites, were terror suspects were interrogated outside of international law.

[Romania] has no information whatsoever showing that there existed secret CIA detention centers on its territory, the country's Foreign Ministry told CNN on Wednesday.

The Eastern European nation is responding to Thomas Hammarberg of the Council of Europe statement Monday that Romania, Poland and Lithuania were three of at least seven European countries that allowed CIA operatives to conduct off-shore renditions.

Darkness still enshrouds those who authorized and ran the black sites on European territories, he said. The full truth must now be established and guarantees given that such forms of co-operation will never be repeated.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, often called the mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, is thought to have been detained at a black site in Poland between 2002 and 2003.

Both former President George W. Bush and former CIA director Leon Panetta have confirmed that black sites existed, but claimed the program ended in 2009. Additionally, neither would give the location of any of the facilities.

But court documents released last Thursday revealed that the U.S. government contracted a luxury jet company to fly high-level suspects to international interrogation centers, including an alleged site in Bucharest, Romania.

According to the filings, jets also brought alleged terrorists to black sites in Kabul, Afghanistan and Bangkok, Thailand, and also handed over suspects to local interrogators in Cairo, Egypt; Damascus, Syria; Amman, Jordan; and Rabat, Morocco.

Hammarberg believes that when a Polish black site closed in 2003, it was moved to Romania, where it stayed open for at least two years.

Romania has little genuine will to uncover the whole truth, Hammarberg said, despite promises that an investigation is underway.

The Council of Europe is an international organization created to promote human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation in Europe. Romania, Poland and Lithuania are all members.