Romania Demands Proof Of CIA-Prison Allegations

Romanian Foreign Minister Razvan Ungureanu (file photo) (AFP) 4 December 2005 -- Romania has asked the rights organization Human Rights Watch for detailed evidence to support the group's allegations that Romania may have hosted secret CIA prisons for terrorist suspects

Foreign Minister Razvan Ungureanu said today that the allegations have harmed Romania's image, and it's time Human Rights Watch produced "very clear evidence" to support its claims.


He reiterated that if such prisons exist, the government does not know anything about them.


Human Rights Watch said last month that Romania and Poland are likely sites for camps where the U.S. intelligence agency has been holding prisoners in secret.


U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due in Bucharest on 6 December, and the matter is likely to be discussed with Romanian officials.


(Reuters)