EU nations 'could lose voting rights over CIA prisons'
The European Commission has warned all EU member states that they could have their voting rights suspended if they are found to have operated secret CIA prisons.
Reports in the United States have claimed a number of eastern European countries are operating secret detention centres where the CIA is holding suspected Islamic extremists.
The United States has admitted detaining suspected al-Qaida militants and transporting them to secret locations around the world.
Critics claim the detainees are effectively being kidnapped by the CIA and tortured by foreign agencies at the behest of the United States.
Irish anti-war activists, meanwhile, say a plane known to be involved in the so-called "extraordinary rendition programme" has landed at Shannon Airport in Co Clare on numerous occasions.
The Irish Government, however, says it has received assurances from the United States that no detainees are being transported through Irish territory.
