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Alleged role in ‘rendition’ divides N.C. town

In Smithfield, N.C., protesters regularly gather at the small airport to press their demand for an investigation into Aero Contractors, a private company that is rumored to have ties to the CIA and its “extraordinary rendition” program of secret detentions.

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Jan. 19, 2012

From left, Duane Poole, Valerie Biesack, 15, and Annie O'Neill, 11, hold a sign during a protest at the Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, N.C. Protests have been going on for six years because Aero Contractors, the airport's largest tenant, allegedly was involved in the transportation of detainees held under the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program. The company will not comment, and it is unclear whether Aero is currently involved in running what critics call "torture taxis."

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

Douglas Thie, center, a 24-year-old law student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, looks at a plane in flight during a news conference held during a protest at the airport in Smithfield.

Jan. 19, 2012

Douglas Thie, center, a 24-year-old law student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, looks at a plane in flight during a news conference held during a protest at the airport in Smithfield.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

Protester Jule Shanklin, 75, of Raleigh, N.C., watches a plane preparing for take-off at the Johnston County Airport. About 50 attended this protest. Aero Contractors also has supporters in the area; they say the company has played a part in the fight against al-Qaeda and is an important employer.

Jan. 19, 2012

Protester Jule Shanklin, 75, of Raleigh, N.C., watches a plane preparing for take-off at the Johnston County Airport. About 50 attended this protest. Aero Contractors also has supporters in the area; they say the company has played a part in the fight against al-Qaeda and is an important employer.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

From left, Beth Brockman, Duane Poole and Steven Edelstein carry a protest sign. Smithfield, the seat of Johnston County, is in the central part of North Carolina.

Jan. 19, 2012

From left, Beth Brockman, Duane Poole and Steven Edelstein carry a protest sign. Smithfield, the seat of Johnston County, is in the central part of North Carolina.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

Airport employees Charles Handy, right, and Jerry Monroe watch the protest. The demonstrators want Aero to be investigated, censured and possibly shut down.

Jan. 19, 2012

Airport employees Charles Handy, right, and Jerry Monroe watch the protest. The demonstrators want Aero to be investigated, censured and possibly shut down.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

Barbara Zelter of Raleigh, N.C., holds a picture of Abou el-Kassim Britel. Britel, a Moroccan-born Italian citizen, was detained and transported on what he believes was an Aero jet. He was later exonerated by the courts in Italy. Britel has never met the Smithfield protesters, but he and his wife have been in contact with them. A suit brought against Aero on behalf of Britel and other detainees was dismissed by a U.S. judge.

Jan. 19, 2012

Barbara Zelter of Raleigh, N.C., holds a picture of Abou el-Kassim Britel. Britel, a Moroccan-born Italian citizen, was detained and transported on what he believes was an Aero jet. He was later exonerated by the courts in Italy. Britel has never met the Smithfield protesters, but he and his wife have been in contact with them. A suit brought against Aero on behalf of Britel and other detainees was dismissed by a U.S. judge.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

Allyson Caison, 51, a real estate broker from Selma, N.C., joins the protest at the Johnston County Airport. She is a regular at the demonstrations. “Torture is not the issue I would have picked,” she says. “But this happened in my back yard. I live literally in the flight path.”

Jan. 19, 2012

Allyson Caison, 51, a real estate broker from Selma, N.C., joins the protest at the Johnston County Airport. She is a regular at the demonstrations. “Torture is not the issue I would have picked,” she says. “But this happened in my back yard. I live literally in the flight path.”

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

Roger Ehrlich places signs along the highway in Smithfield, N.C., to draw attention to the news conference and protest at the airport.

Jan. 19, 2012

Roger Ehrlich places signs along the highway in Smithfield, N.C., to draw attention to the news conference and protest at the airport.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law professor Deborah Weissman, left, activist Allyson Caison, second from left, and Christina Cowger, right, with the group N.C. Stop Torture Now, wait to deliver rendition and torture reports, prepared by Weissman, to Gelina Stone, center, assistant to the Johnston County district attorney, in Smithfield, N.C. The reports claim that flights by Aero Contractors, the largest tenant at the Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, are involved in the transportation of detainees to overseas locations for secret detention and interrogation using torture.

Jan. 19, 2012

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law professor Deborah Weissman, left, activist Allyson Caison, second from left, and Christina Cowger, right, with the group N.C. Stop Torture Now, wait to deliver rendition and torture reports, prepared by Weissman, to Gelina Stone, center, assistant to the Johnston County district attorney, in Smithfield, N.C. The reports claim that flights by Aero Contractors, the largest tenant at the Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, are involved in the transportation of detainees to overseas locations for secret detention and interrogation using torture.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

Jimmy Jordan, 71, shown feeding dozens of his birds at home in Smithfield, N.C., says he has lived his entire life just a few hundred yards from the flight line at the Johnston County Airport. 'We just don't know who's coming and going over our heads,' said Jordan's wife, Becky. 'But nobody's ever bothered us.'

Jan. 19, 2012

Jimmy Jordan, 71, shown feeding dozens of his birds at home in Smithfield, N.C., says he has lived his entire life just a few hundred yards from the flight line at the Johnston County Airport. "We just don't know who's coming and going over our heads," said Jordan's wife, Becky. "But nobody's ever bothered us."

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

The runway at the Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, N.C.

Jan. 19, 2012

The runway at the Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, N.C.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

A warning sign at the Johnston County Airport in rural Smithfield, N.C.

Jan. 19, 2012

A warning sign at the Johnston County Airport in rural Smithfield, N.C.

Ted Richardson / For The Washington Post

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