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THE WAR ON TERROR – AS TRACED BY ALLEGED CIA AIRPLANES. RENDITION October 23, 2001 Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed Pakistan to Jordan A Yemeni microbiology student, Mohammed was wanted in connection with USS Cole; his transfer by U.S. to Jordan from Karachi on Gulfstream N379P shown by flightlogs.
NEW - COVERT TEAM DEPLOYED ON NORTH CAROLINA PLANE November 4, 2004 Members of a covert Jawbreaker CIA paramilitary team are deployed to the mouth of the Panschir Valley, northern Afghanistan, in a Twin Otter aircraft spotted by journalists. Flight logs indicate the plane was a Twin Otter registered N6161Q, based in North Carolina, and flying out via Glasgow, Scotland, Frankfurt, Germany and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. – Described Chapter 5 / Ghost Plane. RENDITION December 18, 2001 Mohamed Al Zery Sweden to Egypt Ahmed Agiza Two Egyptian asylumseekers. Rendered from Sweden back to Egypt aboard a CIA plane. They later alleged they were tortured on arrival. Flightlogs of N379P confirm the account. – Described Chapter 1/ Ghost Plane 2002 RENDITION January 11, 2002 Muhammad Saad Iqbal Madni Indonesia to Egypt Egyptian-Pakistani, arrested in Jakarta, Indonesia, after arriving from Pakistan, mid November 2001. Then hustled aboard a U.S.-registered Gulfstream jet and flown to Egypt. Later sent to Afghanistan, and then Guantánamo. On 9th Jan the Gulfstream N379P had flown from Dulles to Cairo to pick up Egyptian officers; it flew on to Jakarta and it returned back from Cairo to Washington (via Prestwick UK) on 15 January 2002.
RENDITION March 28, 2002 Abu Zubaydah Pakistan to CIA custody Arrest of Abu Zubaydah after co-ordinated series of arrests across Pakistan involving US agents. He is reported to have been flown to Thailand. Flightlogs show N379P out to Dubai on March 26th; it returned via Anchorage, Alaska on April 2nd (suggesting a journey to the Far East). A Palestinian and alleged senior Al Qaeda leader, he was arrested among 20 Arabs in Pakistani/FBI raids on March 28-29 in Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore.
April 15, 2002 Flightlogs show N379P visit to Camp Peary, the CIA training base. NEW CONFIRMATION OF RENDITION April 18, 2002 Martin Mubanga Zambia to Guantánamo Dual British-Zambian citizen, resident of Wembley, north London. Picked up in Zambia after traveling there from Pakistan-Afghanistan, he was questioned by U.S. and UK officials, flown to Afghanistan and then on to Guantánamo, where he arrived by April 20th. Flight logs show N379P flying from Frankfurt to Entebbe, Uganda, on April 18 about two hours flight from Zambian capital. The plane re-appears in Washington DC on April 20th. Released January 2005.
RENDITION June 5, 2002. Omar al-Faruq, a Kuwaiti, arrested in West Java and reported taken by CIA officers to Kabul, Afghanistan. The same day as his arrest N379P flies from Washington to Frankfurt to Dubai and missing 5 days before return 10th June from Kabul via Frankfurt to Washington Dulles.. Al-Faruq later escaped from Bagram July 11, 2005 along with 3 other prisoners. Reported killed in Basra, Iraq.
June 14, 2002: A bomb at US consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11. The logs show N379P flies from Washington on June 16th to Prestwick, Scotland and then Karachi.
NEW RENDITION CASE May 14, 2002 Abu Abdul Halim Dalak,Omar Ghramesh, and un-named teenager Pakistan to Syria These suspects told fellow prisoners at the Palestine Branch in Syria they were transferred by US agents on this date from Pakistan. Dalak was a student arrested in November 2001; Ghramesh and the teenager were arrested with Abu Zubaydah. Flightlogs of N379P indicate a flight from Pakistan to Jordan on this date, suggesting they were transferred from there by car to Damascus, the same route to Syria used for rendering Maher Arar to Damascus.
NEW RENDITION CASE May 24, 2002 Abu al-Kassem Britel Pakistan to Morocco Dual Italian-Moroccan national, he was captured in Pakistan and flown in an executive jet to Rabat, Morocco. Flight logs of N379P showing a flight from Islamabad to Rabat on May 24 confirm his account of his transfer given to a French human rights group.
MEETING: July 17-19, 2002 – CIA planes meet in Frankfurt. Within two days, logs show N85VM (The ‘Red Sox’ Gulfstream), N8183J (Rapid Air Transport/ Tepper AC130), N379P, (the Gulfstream 5, /Premier Executive), N168D, (Devon Holding and Leasing) visit the airport
NEW CONFIRMATION OF RENDITION CLAIM July 19, 2002 Mohamedou Ould Slahi Jordan to Afghanistan Flightlogs of N379P from Amman to Kabul on July 19 confirm Slahi’s account at Guantanamo of his rendition from Jordan to Afghanistan by US agents on this date. He was later transferred to Guantánamo on August 4, 2002.
RENDITION July 21, 2002 Binyam Mohamed Pakistan to Morocco An Ethiopian accused of Al Qaeda links and alleged accomplice of José Padilla, the so-called ‘dirty bomber.’ In testimony to his lawyer at Guantanamo, he remembered two other prisoners on board this flight, which flight logs confirm N379P flew Islamabad to Rabat on this date. See also January 22, 2004. - Described Chapter 2 / Ghost Plane
FIRST CONFIRMED CIA FLIGHT TO DIEGO GARCIA September 11, 2002 Ramzi Binalshibh Pakistan to CIA custody An alleged planner of the 9/11 attacks, he was arrested in Pakistan and transferred for interrogation by the CIA. Flightlogs of N379P show flight from Washington to Athens to Diego Garcia on September 13, possibly bringing interrogators. The plane disappears until 18 September in Morocco.
FIRST CONFIRMATION OF RENDITION CLAIM September 28, 2002, Abdulsalam al-Hela Egypt to Kabul Flightlog N379P from Egypt to Kabul. A Yemeni businessman and alleged intelligence operative, he was arrested in Cairo on a business trip. His family was told he was sent to Azerbaijan, though other reports, a Red Cross letter from him and flight logs of N379P indicate he was transferred direct to Afghanistan.
RENDITION October 8, 2002 Maher Arar USA to Syria A Canadian citizen, arrested after changing planes at JFK, New York, and then sent to Syria where he was held for a year. Charter plane N829MG follows his exact described flight path to Rome and then to Amman, from where he was transferred by road to Damascus. Released and returned to Canada in October 2003. – Described Chapter 3 / Ghost Plane
October 12, 2002: Bali bombs. The same day N379P flies out from Washington to Frankfurt and then Tashkent. Disappears until 19th October, when returns from Islamabad to Washington DC.
October 15, 2002, four suspected members of Al Qaeda arrested in Peshawar. On October 19, N379P flies from Islamabad, Pakistan, back to Dulles via Northolt, UK. NEW CONFIRMATION OF RENDITION TO JORDAN November 8, 2002 Abd al-Rahim, al-Nashri United Arab Emirates to CIA custody Possibly taken first to Jordan, he was captured after traveling from Yemen to Dubai. Alleged al Qaeda commander in the Gulf region. He was allegedly taken to a CIA facility in Jordan. Two planes appear to have been involved. On Nov 7th, the Gulfstream N379P flew Washington to Munich to Diyakabir (Turkey) and then to Amman. It returned from Jordan on November 9th. The N85VM (‘RedSox’ Gulfstream) flew out on 8th November, also from Dulles to Shannon to Dubai; it returned from Dubai on 12th November . MEETING December 2-4, 2002. Desert Rock, Nevada. Three planes appear at Desert Rock, Nevada, close to the secret Nevada test range. They include N313P (the Premier Executive boeing business jet), N85VM (The ‘Red Sox’ Gulfstream), N8183J (Rapid Air Transport/ Tepper AC130)
RENDITION December 8, 2002 Bisher al-Rawi and Jamil al Banna Gambia to Afghanistan Two British residents of Iraqi and Jordanian nationality, they were arrested November 8 in Gambia. Later to transferred to Guantánamo. Their accounts of their rendition on December 8 to a CIA facility in Afghanistan mark the flight logs of N379P. – Described Chapter 1 / Ghost Plane
INTERCEPT PICTURES*** January 21, 2003. Austrian Air Force intercept and photograph an AC130 flown by Florida-based Tepper Aviation who charter planes owned by the CIA’s Rapid Air Transport. The plane is flying from Frankfurt AFB to Baku, Azerbaijan and, despite military communications equipment, is registered as a civilian plane. All US government chartered planes must have diplomatic permission to enter Austrian air space. Flightlogs show flight plan from Frankfurt to Baku
MEETING February 10, 2003; at Ramstein AFB, Germany, the N313P business jet and N85VM (Red Sox hired Gulfstream) meet up
February 12-15, 2003: arrest in Bahrein of five members of Al Qaeda N313P flies to Bahrein on 28th March; it returns from Dubai to the US on March 30th.
RENDITION February 17, 2003 Abu Omar Italy to Germany to Egypt An Egyptian refugee, Abu Omar was captured in Milan, driven to Aviano airforce base, flown to Ramstein, Germany, and then onwards to Cairo. Flightlogs show a military Learjet ‘Spar 92’ travelling from Aviano to Ramstein, Germany, and then Gulfstream N85VM going on from Ramstein to Cairo, returning February 18th to Washington DC. Described Chapter 9/ Ghost Plane RENDITION March 1, 2003 Khalid Sheikh Mohamed Pakistan to CIA custody The self-confessed architect of the 9/11 attacks, he was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Handed over to U.S. interrogators and transferred to secret CIA facility. At 2.30am on 2nd March (9.30pm Washington on 1st March), N379P flies out to Czech Republic, flying onwards on 3rd March to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, presumably with interrogators. It returns from Kabul on 3rd March.
NEW – PLANE’S ARRIVAL COINCIDES WITH TORTURE REPORT May 27, 2003; the CIA jet (N379P) flies from Egypt to Nairobi. Three days later (according to Amnesty) a detainee in Kenya claims he was tortured under electric shocks by foreign agents : The detainee, Mohamed Surur, a charcoal dealer from Mombasa, is freed after several days. He alleges the foreign agents were ‘American or Israeli’. Surur is one of a series of detainees who allege they were arrested by foreign American agents at this time. 12 days earlier, 15 May, the British government had ordered the cancellation of flights to Nairobi after a warning that an Al Qaeda team was active in Kenya. June 1st, Kenyan government confirms foreign security agents are in the country May 31, 2003: Saudis kill AQ leader and capture his No 2, Al Shabrani. N313P flies 31st May from Frankfurt to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And returns 2nd June from Dubai.
June 5, 2003. Flight from Afghanistan to Poland (N379P) – possible link to reports of secret prison in Poland.
June 16, 2003. A US citizen Abu Ahmed Ali, who is being held in Saudi prison without charge or access to legal counsel, according to facts outlined in a US district court judgement, he was first questioned by “FBI agents” in Riyadh on or around June 16th 2003. FBI agents have testified they watched the Saudis question the suspect through glass. He later alleged he was tortured. N368CE (chartered NetJet Boeing 737) arrives in Riyadh from the US via Luton, UK, on June 18th, 2003. He was also allegedly questioned again sometime in September again by “FBI agents”. On 30 September 2003, the N379P Premier Executive Gulfstream arrives again in Riyadh from the US via Luton, UK.
NEW CONFIRMATION OF RENDITION ACCOUNT July 22, 2003 Saifulla Paracha Thailand to Afghanistan Pakistani businessman arrested in Bangkok after he was lured to a business meeting in a U.S. operation. Transferred to Bagram, Afghanistan and then to Guantánamo, September 20, 2004. Flightlogs show N379P flying to Tashkent July 22, enroute to Thailand, and returning to US from Kabul on July 24 (via Cairo and Glasgow).
July 29, 2003. Flight of N379P from Kabul, Afghanistan, to Warsaw, Poland – possible link to reports of secret prison in Poland
RENDITION Aug 12, 2003: Arrest of Hambali. Flightlogs show N379P leaving 12 Aug from Dulles to Porto, reaching Dubai on 15th August, disappearing, then returning from Tashkent 17th August.
September 22, 2003; flight of N313P from Kabul, Afghanistan, to Szymany airbase, Poland – linked to reports of possible secret prison in Poland.
NEW CONFIRMATION OF RENDITION ACCCOUNT October 26, 2003 Salah Nasser Salim ‘Ali Jordan to Afghanistan Muhammad Bashmilah Yemeni nationals both arrested in Jordan and transferred there to US custody. Flightlog N379P shows flight Amman to Kabul.
IRAQ ATTACK October 27, 2003, the Red Cross headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, was bombed, killing 12, as the first wave of insurgency in Iraq was climaxing. Saddam Hussein remained at large. Two days later, October 29th, the Gulfstream N379P flew into Baghdad from Kabul.
IRAQ – DEATH OF CIA PRISONER November 4, 2003, Navy Seals arrest a suspect for the Red Cross bombing. Manadel Al Jamadi is handed over to the CIA and taken to Abu Ghraib where he is dead by 7am, allegedly dying of the blow received from a ‘butt stroke’ received during his arrest. After leaving Washington for Frankfurt on 13 November, making a return trip to Moscow, the N313P Boeing business jet departs for Baghdad on 17th November. It leaves 19th November, 2003 from Baghdad via Abu Dhabi to Morocco. – Described Chapter 7 / Ghost Plane TRANSFER TO GITMO November 23, 2003, the Department of Defence announces the completion of the transfer of 20 detainees into Guantanamo. The N313P shows a flightplan 21st November flying Kabul to Morocco to Guantanamo.
LIBYA TALKS – NEW INFO ON ROLE OF CIA PLANES IN THESE TALKS December 1, 2003, Officers from CIA and Britain’s MI6 begin ’12 day mission’ to Libya to carry out inventory of Libya’s WMD program. Flightlogs show N313P flying Dec 1 to Northolt, London, to pick up the British, and then to Tripoli; after waiting in Malta, the plane returns 12 December to Tripoli, returning to Washington via Brize Norton (England).
NEW SADDAM ARREST December 13, 2003. Saddam Hussein is arrested in a pre-planned operation at 8.30pm Iraq time, (5.30pm GMT / 12.30pm Washington). The night before (1.53am GMT on the 13th, or 9.53pm Washington on the 12th), the N379P Gulfstream has already taken off from Dulles bound for Baghdad, stopping to refuel at Prague. The next day, December 14th, the larger Boeing N313P flies out of Dulles to Baghdad via Frankfurt, and then returns back to Dulles.
LIBYA TALKS December 16, 2003. Talks in London between CIA/MI6 and Libyan delegation, headed by Musa Kusa, head of Libyan intelligence, resulting in an accord agreed at the Traveller’s Club, St James. Flightlogs show N313P flying Dulles to Luton, n. of London, December 16, and returning December 17.
2004
NEW RENDITION CASE January 7, 2004 Abduh Ali Shaqawi Jordan to Afghanistan Hassan bin Attash Shaqawi (also known as Riyadh the facilitor) had been previously rendered from Pakistan to Jordan, as had bin Attash. Both were transferred to Guantánamo on September 20, 2004. Flightlog N313P confirm Shaqawi’s account of this rendition he described at Guantanamo. CIA MEETING January 21, 2004 Two CIA planes – N313P and N8068V (renamed N379P) meet in Larnaca, Cyprus
RENDITION January 22, 2004 Binyam Mohamed Morocco to Afghanistan Ethiopian national and a former British resident. The flightlog of N313P, traveling from Larnaca to Rabat to Kabul, confirms his account of his rendition to Afghanistan on this date. – Described Chapter 2 and 4 / Ghost Plane
POSSIBLE RENDITION January 22, 2004 Possible rendition: Afghanistan to Algeria – flightlog of N313P, Kabul to Algiers, matches military report of ‘repatriation’ from Bagram.
RENDITION January 23, 2004 Khaled al-Masri Macedonia to Afghanistan German used car salesman. Held for three weeks by Macedonian authorities, before his transfer to U.S. custody in Afghanistan.The flightlog of N313P from Skopje to Kabul via Baghdad confirms his account of his transfer to Afghanistan, described in his statements to German police. Released in Albania, May 28, 2004. – Described Chapter 4 / Ghost Plane
January 25, 2004 Flight from Kabul to Timosoara, Romania of N313P – linked to possible reports of CIA secret jail in Romania.
NEW CONFIRMATION OF RENDITION March 3, 2004 Mohamed al-Assad Djibouti to Afghanistan A Yemeni arrested originally in Tanzania. After questioning by agents describing themselves as from the FBI in Djibouti, al-Assad was placed on a plane to Kabul. Flightlog of N379P from Djibouti to Kabul matches this account. – Described Epilogue / Ghost Plane
FLIGHT TO IRAN March 29, 2004 – a suspected CIA jet, N157A, a Beech turboprop registered to Aviation Specialties Inc and based at Johnston County,, files a flight plan to Ankara, Turkey, from Tehran, Iran.
July 4, 2004 Terror warning in Qatar after Internet postings. N478GS, a Gulfstream hire jet, flies to Al Udeid AFB in Qatar
LINK TO DEPORTATION July 10, 2004: Ten Pakistani terror suspects deported from Cyprus N478GS, same Gulfstram hire jet, flies to Pakistan on June 5th, and then to Al Udeid AFB, Qatar, 9th June, then Cyprus. On 8th July, the Gulfstream N379P is in Pathos, Greece, and again in Athens on 14th July.
TRANSFER GITMO TO MOROCCO August 1, 2004, the US transfers five Moroccan detainees from Guantanamo to Morocco. N85VM (the Red Sox Gulfstream) flies 31 July from Rabat via the Azores to Guantanamo and returns 1st August directly from Guantanamo to Morocco. All were initially released on bail, pending criminal charges in the Moroccan courts.
TRANSFER OF LIBYAN INTERROGATORS September 8-9, 2004: Libyan dissident Omar Deghayes claims he was interviewed by Libyan secret police in Guantanamo. Gulfstream N8068V flies 7th Sept, Libya to Guantanamo.
NEW *** Accident in Romania: December 6, 2004 at 1.30pm GMT, the hired Gulfstream, N478GS, is involved in an accident in Romania: bursting a tyre on landing on a section of the runway in Bucharest under construction. The three flight crew, and seven passengers, dressed casually in jeans and T shirts, are not injured and wait several hours in the VIP lounge while the plane is fixed / accident investigated. The plane was on a return leg of a trip to Bagram, Kabul, after leaving the US on December 4th and flying via Shannon, and Bucharest. In previous weeks, the same plane has been busy, visiting among other places, Kuwait, Tel Aviv, Cyprus, Hurghada (Egypt), and Nairobi (Kenya).
2005 TRANSFER OF SUDAN SPY CHIEF April 17, 2005. Chief of Sudanese intelligence flown to Washington DC for talks with CIA director Porter Goss, according to report in LA Times. Flightlogs show N4476S (re-named N313P) flew April 17th from Khartoum to Washington DC and then returned to Khartoum on April 22nd. ARREST OF TERROR SUSPECT April 30, 2005. Arrest in Pakistan of Al Qaeda alleged leader Abu Faraj al Libbi, named as no 3 in AQ. Flightlogs show N4476S flying to Kandahar, Afghanistan, on April 30, and returning to US on May 6th. RENDITION October 23, 2001 Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed Pakistan to Jordan A Yemeni microbiology student, Mohammed was wanted in connection with USS Cole; his transfer by U.S. to Jordan from Karachi on Gulfstream N379P shown by flightlogs.
NEW - COVERT TEAM DEPLOYED ON NORTH CAROLINA PLANE November 4, 2004 Members of a covert Jawbreaker CIA paramilitary team are deployed to the mouth of the Panschir Valley, northern Afghanistan, in a Twin Otter aircraft spotted by journalists. Flight logs indicate the plane was a Twin Otter registered N6161Q, based in North Carolina, and flying out via Glasgow, Scotland, Frankfurt, Germany and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. – Described Chapter 5 / Ghost Plane. ENDS
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