BEIJING, Nov. 4 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for access to all foreign terror suspects held by the United States. This follows a Washington Post report that America's Central Intelligence Agency has been running a covert prison system for al Qaeda captives since the war on terror started in 2001.

    The Washington Post said on Wednesday that the CIA was hiding and interrogating inmates at a secret facility in Eastern Europe. It's one of the so-called "black sites" in eight countries which have strongly denied any involvement.

    US officials declined direct comment on the report. The International Committee of the Red Cross wants an accounting.

    Antonella Notari, Chief ICRC Spokeswoman, said, "Yes, we are concerned about the fate of a certain number of people held in undisclosed places of detention. We have asked for notification and access to all persons detained in relation with the so-called global war on terror. This would be a logical continuation of the work we are doing in the U.S. places of detention in Afghanistan, in Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq."

    The ICRC monitors whether prison conditions and treatment of detainees comply with the 1949 Geneva Conventions which lay down rules for treating soldiers and civilians captured in international armed conflicts.

    The European Commission says the existence of secret prisons would not be compatible with the non-binding Charter of Fundamental Rights, which includes political criteria for EU membership. Enditem

(Source: CCTV.com)