Uzbekistan is not the only place where British diplomats are being accused of complicity in torture.
A major scandal has been breaking in Greece, where 28 Pakistani men were allegedly abducted and brutally interrogated by Greek security officers and the local MI6 station chief in the aftermath of the July bombings in London.
Jack Straw initially dismissed the claims as a fabrication, but there now appears to be some confusion about the British government’s account.
Yesterday’s Observer quotes British officials as saying that the men were arrested rather than kidnapped, that MI6 were present only as observers and reports of torture were exagerrated.
However, according to The Times today, the Foreign Office continues to deny any British officials were present during the interrogations.
The Greek newspaper Proto Thema has alleged that a British diplomat, Nicholas Langman, was the MI6 officer involved. This has not been reported in the British press, apparently because of a D-Notice, although it has been covered extensively by bloggers.
Scotland’s Sunday Herald, one of Britain’s better investigative newspapers, has a good analysis of recent developments.
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