Extraordinary rendition

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Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored kidnapping in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror,^[1] which had the purpose of circumventing the source country's laws on interrogation, detention, extradition and/or torture. Extraordinary rendition is a type of extraterritorial abduction, but not all extraterritorial abductions include transfer to a third country.

Extraordinary rendition began under the administration of President Bill Clinton and continued under the administration of President George W. Bush. Hundreds of "illegal combatants" were abducted for U.S. detention, and transported detainees to U.S.-controlled sites as part of an extensive interrogation program that included torture.^[2] Extraordinary rendition continued under the Obama administration, with targets being interrogated and subsequently taken to the U.S. for trial.^[3] A 2018 report by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament found the United Kingdom, specifically MI5 and MI6, to be complicit in many of the renditions carried out by the U.S., by helping to fund them, by supplying intelligence, and by knowingly allowing the abductions to happen.^[4]

In July 2014, the European Court of Human Rights condemned the government of Poland for participating in CIA extraordinary rendition, ordering Poland to pay restitution to men who had been abducted, taken to a CIA black site in Poland, and tortured.^[5][6][7] Torture is banned under the European Convention on Human Rights, which 46 nations, including Poland, have pledged to uphold.