European court ruling 'premature' on CIA renditions in Poland?

An archive picture from 03.12.2013 shows a sitting of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on alleged CIA 'black sites' in Poland. Photo: PAP/EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA

The European Court of Human Rights has judged that Poland should pay 230,000 euros to two alleged Al-Qaeda operatives, held and tortured at a purported CIA 'black site' on Polish territory, Elżbieta Krajewska reports.

The two men - Abd Al Nashiri, a Saudi of Yemeni descent and Abu Zubaydah, a stateless Palestinian, both of whom are still being held by the US at the infamous Guantanamo Bay site - put their case before the European Court of Human Rights in December 2013.

The Court has ruled that Poland had committed six violations of articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

However, spokesman for Poland's Foreign Ministry, Marcin Wojciechowski called the decision of the court 'premature'.

Polish authorities have denied the existence of such a CIA ‘black site’ in Poland. Leftist politician Leszek Miller was prime minister at the time of the alleged CIA renditions. He now says the ruling is 'unfair' and 'morally wrong'.