Government says US has given clear pledges on flight claims

The United States has given "explicit, unambiguous and unqualified" guarantees that it is not shipping prisoners through Shannon for torture elsewhere, the Government has said.

The declaration came after the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) warned that the State was legally obliged to search suspect US flights and could not depend on diplomatic assurances from Washington.

Clearly stung by the IHRC's intervention, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said the Government would study the commission's document "carefully and respond in due course".

However, Mr Ahern said the Government had repeatedly said that it "cannot permit, has not permitted and will not permit so-called extraordinary renditions" through Irish airports or airspace.

Despite the lack of investigations in response to complaints to date, Mr Ahern said it "has also been made clear that the appropriate authorities will act if there is specific and credible information" regarding particular aircraft.

The Bush administration has offered "explicit, unambiguous and unqualified assurances" at "a very high level" that no prisoners have been transported through Irish airports.

Meanwhile, the Minister said the Government was co-operating with a Council of Europe investigation into allegations that the US has been operating secret prisons throughout Europe.

The IHRC's declaration was prepared after detailed study of the obligations imposed on the State by United Nations and domestic law, and by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Speaking of the commission's move, Labour TD Michael D Higgins said: "This a crucial development. This is an independent body established by statute which is required, among other functions, to keep under review the effectiveness of laws and practices in the State relating to the protection of human rights."

The Government, he said, had so far been able to ignore the concerns of TDs and non-governmental bodies. "It cannot dismiss the concerns of a body such as this without further damaging its own credibility," he said.

Former Army officer Ed Horgan, who has campaigned against the alleged CIA landings, said all US military flights should be banned from Shannon airport.

"I believe it is very likely that prisoners were transported through Shannon at some stage in the past and CIA planes were being used in the process of taking prisoners to be tortured," he said.

Meanwhile, an Italian court has issued European arrest warrants for 22 suspected CIA agents, who are alleged to have kidnapped an Egyptian-born Muslim cleric, Osama Nasr Mostafa Hassan, in Milan in 2003.

The warrants, which can be enforced in all 25 EU member states, were issued on December 20th. The 22 individuals listed in the warrants are already facing arrest warrants in Italy for the kidnapping of Mr Hassan, who was subsequently sent to Egypt and allegedly tortured there.