Mr Miller says discussing "black sites" is dangerous Gawuc/Reporter

Polish state prosecutors are considering charging members of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) for their alleged involvement in secret CIA prisons that may have been located on Polish soil. The prisons, often referred to as “black sites,” were allegedly locations where “enhanced interrogation techniques” were used on suspected terrorists from 2002-2005.

Officials from the leftist SLD government, including former Prime Minister Leszek Miller, may be charged with violating Poland’s constitution, helping to illegally imprison people and participating in crimes against humanity.

This is according to documents released by daily Gazeta Wyborcza, which show that former deputy prosecutor Jerzy Mierzewski wanted to press charges against former members of government who were in power between 2001 and 2005. Mr Mierzewski was recently removed from the investigation and it is unknown if the charges he intended to bring will still stand.

The documents include a list of questions which prosecutors asked legal experts regarding the sites. The experts determined that there is no legal framework that would enable a foreign intelligence center to be located in Poland and not fall under the country’s jurisdiction. In addition, they said the operation of such a center would be a breach of the Polish Constitution and that if prisoners were held in such prisons they could qualify as victims of both war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In an interview with radio station TOK FM, Mr Miller called journalists investigating the allegations “useful idiots,” a term previously used by Lenin to describe Soviet sympathizers in Western countries.

Mr Miller claimed that openly discussing such prisons in the media endangered the country, saying, “Next year we will organize Euro 2012 and this is a great opportunity for al-Qaeda to remember about Poland.”

Thomas Kolasa