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Bridgetown, Barbados, July 5, 2006 - A shocking allegation this morning of a Caribbean version "extraordinary rendition" by the United States of the controversial Guyanese businessman Shaheed "Roger" Khan.
The Trinidad Express is this morning reporting that American officials drugged the 35-year old Khan in his cell in Suriname placed him on a commercial aircraft bound for Trinidad and Tobago where an US plane flew him to Miami - without an extradition request and without due process. He has since been arraigned on cocaine charges in the United States.
The newspaper's account bluntly contradicted the categorical statement by the Runaldo Venetiaan Administration that the deportation was in accordance with Surinamese law.
It stated that even though Suriname claimed to have had hard evidence against Khan to warrant criminal prosecution in Paramaribo that "suddenly" he was deemed an "illegal visitor" and expelled from the country into the waiting arms of the United States. Normally, a deportee is returned to his own country and not a third country.
"There could be no confirmation from any of the leaders attending the current 27th Caricom Summit in St Kitts that the Bush administration's highly controversial policy of rendition would be discussed in relation to the reported "kidnapping'' of Khan on the eve of his appearance in court to answer a range of charges," the newspaper reported.
"One top Caricom spokesman, dealing with crime and security challenges in the region, said that while 'not condoning any act of extraordinary rendition'', governments of the Community would have to take into consideration the co-operation already received from the US in helping them to 'unearth and deal with very threatening developments to security and good governance''," the newspaper added.
"Extraordinary rendition" is an American extra-judicial procedure which involves the sending of untried criminal suspects, generally suspected terrorists or alleged supporters of groups which the US Government considers to be terrorist organizations, to countries other than the United States for imprisonment and interrogation.
Although rendition is not new, the current US policy, of "extraordinary rendition," appears to be different in nature in its usage as tool in the US-led "war on terror" to apprehend suspected terrorists but not place them before a court of law.
Media reports describe suspects being arrested, blindfolded, shackled, and sedated, or otherwise kidnapped, and transported by private jet or other means to the destination country. The reports also say that the rendering countries have provided interrogators with lists of questions.
In the case of Khan, he was transported to the United States and not a foreign country for interrogation.
Khan is an alleged drugs kingpin who was indicted by a grand jury in the US District Court, Eastern District of New York on May 3, which charges that he conspired to import cocaine into the US between January 2001 and March 2006. Under US law, Khan faces a maximum of life in prison if found guilty of the offence based on the amount of cocaine imported.
Khan is also wanted by the police to answer illegal gun charges.
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