In September 2012 the Italian criminal appeal court upheld the conviction of 22 US CIA agents, one US pilot of a rendition plane and two Italian intelligence officials, all of whom had been convicted in connection with the kidnap of Muslim cleric known as Abu Omar. Abu Omar was then transported to Egypt on February 17th, 2003, on Gulfstream 4 plane with tail number N85VM, where he claimed he was tortured. It has been confirmed by independent investigations including Amnesty International, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the UN Rapporteur on Torture, that this aircraft was refuelled at Shannon on February 18th, 2003 on its return journey to the US.

Aircraft N85VM had previously been refuelled at Shannon in another case revealed in New York court documents. On November 8th 2002 it arrived at Shannon from Washington and flew on to Dubai and Kabul on a mission that is likely to have involved the rendition and alleged torture of Abd al-Nashiri.

On January 20th, 2004 Gulfstream 5 number N8068V (previously numbered N379P and nicknamed the Guantánamo Express) stopped at Shannon en route to Baghdad where it picked up prisoner Khaled al Maqtari, and transported him to Afghanistan where he was allegedly tortured.

Other confirmed extraordinary renditions that have been facilitated at Shannon Airport included Khaled El Masri and Binyam Mohamed.

Given that well over 1,000 CIA associated flights, involving more than 20 different planes, were refuelled at Shannon Airport, it is very likely that some prisoners were transported through Shannon on their way to Guantánamo where they may have been tortured. In such an event, the Government, the Gardaí and the airport authorities either knowingly or unknowingly facilitated torture, and their actions were in contravention of the UN Convention Against Torture, and associated Irish legislation.

No one has yet been charged with any offences connected with the facilitation of CIA rendition flights through Shannon Airport. Independent investigation and accountability are long overdue.

More recently it has been revealed in a report in the Guardian newspaper (25 Oct 2012) that Britain has recently rejected US requests to use UK bases in its nuclear standoff with Iran. This was due to secret legal advice that any pre-emptive strike could be in breach of international law because Iran does not yet present a clear and present threat that would justify such a pre-emptive attack. This raises the question as to whether the Irish Government has received a similar request to allow US military aircraft to use Shannon airport in the event of a US/Israeli attack on Iran, and whether it has agreed to any such request.

The use of Shannon for an a ttack on Iran may have been one of the purposes of the visit by US General Martin Dempsey to Ireland last August, and his meetings with Lt General Sean McCann and Defence/Justice Minister Shatter (Irish Times 3 Sept). In an RTE interview on 31 August 2012 General Dempsey thanked Ireland for allowing US soldiers to use Shannon Airport. He went as far as saying that Shannon Airport is a really important hub for American
forces as they travel to war zones such as Afghanistan.

The question that must now be urgently asked - and answered - is: Has the Irish Government or Minister for Defence given assurances or approval for continuing US military use of Shannon airport in the event of a pre-emptive attack on Iran?

It should be noted that the Irish High Court has already ruled (in Judge Kearns in Horgan v Ireland, April 2003) that the transit of armed US troops on their way to war through Shannon Airport is in breach of international laws on neutrality. Allowing armed US troops and war materials through Shannon Airport in the event of a US pre-emptive attack on Iran would be a further additional breach of international law.