The Swiss charged with investigating the CIA

[cal04]

The man charged with investigating alleged CIA prisons in Europe has made a career out of hunting criminals, and has never shied away from controversy. In an interview with swissinfo, Dick Marty described himself as a "loner" - fitting for a man who led efforts to decriminalise drugs in Switzerland and to allow euthanasia in Europe. Marty, 60, a senator for Switzerland's centre-right Radical Party, was appointed in November by the Council of Europe to probe allegations that the CIA set up secret prisons in eastern Europe to interrogate terror suspects.

Almost from the outset, Marty made clear he was taking no prisoners. A little over a month after he was appointed, he said publicly that there were indications "that individuals had been abducted and transferred to other countries without respect for any legal standards". He also criticised the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's refusal to answer questions relating to the allegations, during her visit to Europe. Bern was not spared either. Marty slammed the Swiss government for not taking Washington to task over the CIA's use of Swiss airspace – confirmed by the aviation authorities - saying it was likely influenced by a free-trade agreement currently being negotiated with the United States.

Marty's mission has turned him into hot property among journalists. "My phone never stops ringing," he told swissinfo, mentioning Al Jazeera, CNN and Swiss television by name. "But I don't like being on screen – I'm a loner." However, he's happy to talk about his probe into the CIA, describing it as an extremely important mission. "If people are detained, transported and tortured without reference to the law, what are the values of our continent worth?" Europe didn't spend hundreds of years ridding itself of such practices, says Marty, only to see them return overnight.

On matters of human rights, Marty says excuses or exceptions are unacceptable. He voted against tightening the asylum law in Switzerland, and watched with scepticism as the government called for new measures to curb
hooliganism in sport. "A state governed by the rule of law must work within the law to combat terrorism and violence," says Marty. Parts of the Swiss media have a good deal of affection for Marty. A French-language paper described him as a "non-conformist" - high praise indeed for a supposedly centre-right politician. Within his party – one of the four in government – Marty is seen as a breed apart. His formidable debating skills are well known in parliament, and in his home canton of (Italian-speaking) Ticino, he is described as a "social liberal".

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http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=107&sid=6331772&cKey=1135110868000

[orwell]

1. Its the Swiss Fitz n/t

[Demeter]

2. Cute! Thanks for Chuckle!

Much better than Swiss Miss, in any event!