(AFP) The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland on Wednesday welcomed the publication of the US Senate’s report on the CIA, which he regarded as confirming the findings of the pan-European organisation and the European Court of Human Rights.

The US Senate’s report on CIA use of torture in its battle against al-Qaeda "confirms the earlier reports and the findings of the Council of Europe, in particular the European Court of Human Rights, about serious human rights violations in Europe", he observed in a statement transmitted to AFP.

Mr Jagland commended the US Senate report for its transparency, and the American President’s clear declaration that these methods belonged to the past.

• Chronology of CoE/ECHR involvement in the rendition cases