In a recent interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski made the following statements:
"... Q: But it was the Americans who revealed information that prisoners were held in Poland.
A: Indeed, in a wave of critique against George Bush, when Barack Obama said he was going to close the prison in Guantanamo. His term in office is almost over, and the prison still exists. Osama bin Laden was shot by a commando on the orders of someone who received the Nobel Peace Prize.
It was not us who detained terrorists, it was not us who interrogated them. We assumed that our allies would adhere to the law. If something happened that was not in accordance with the law, then the Americans are responsible for it, then it is up to them to pay the bill.
Q: Polish authorities closed their eyes on what the CIA were doing?
A: The collaboration with the CIA had the risk that the Americans were going to deploy methods that are not admissible. But if a CIA agent had brutally mistreated a prisoner in the Marriot hotel in Warsaw, would you accuse the hotel management for what this agent had done? We didn't know about any torture."
Kwaśniewski admits to a collaboration with the CIA, but claims not to have known of any torture, even though he says that apparently there were fears to this regard.
Cablegate evidence for such a cooperation has recently been recovered by WLC.
According to case files leaked to Gazeta Wyborcza just over a year ago, the initial investigation into the CIA black site in Stare Kiejkuty focused on the legal implications of creating an extraterritorial area, the detention and torture of prisoners in such an area and the status of these prisoners.
For our previous extensive coverage of the topic, please see this link.