Europeans Investigate CIA Role in Abductions

Flight logs also support Masri's claim that he was flown out of Macedonia by U.S. secret agents. Aviation records show a U.S.-registered Boeing jet arrived in Skopje at 9 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2004, and departed about six hours later. Masri had provided German investigators with the same time and date.

The flight plan shows the aircraft was scheduled to go to Kabul, but later amended its route to include a stopover in Baghdad. The existence of the flight logs was first reported by Frontal 21, a news show on the German television network ZDF. A copy of the logs was obtained by The Washington Post.

The jet, with tail number N313P, was registered at the time to a U.S. firm, Premier Executive Transport Services Inc., that records suggest is a CIA front company. The same firm owned another aircraft, a Gulfstream jet, that has been used in other rendition cases, including the one in Sweden.

Masri's attorney and investigators say they think he was abducted because his name is similar to that of an al Qaeda suspect, Khalid Masri, who allegedly played a crucial role in persuading the members of the Hamburg cell who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks to go to Afghanistan, where they first met Osama bin Laden.

Manfred Gnjidic, the lawyer, says he has asked the U.S. Embassy in Berlin for an explanation of what happened, but has received no response.

"We are quite sure that they were behind this," said Gnjidic. "We are looking for punishment and to hold someone accountable."

Robert Wood, an embassy spokesman, declined to answer specific questions about the case. "But our policy is pretty clear," he said. "The United States does not transfer detainees to countries where we believe it is more likely than not that they will be tortured."

Macedonian officials also had little to say. "Our answer is, no comment," said Goran Pavlovski, spokesman for the Macedonian Interior Ministry. "If the Germans want information, they should ask us about it, and we will respond."

Under German law, prosecutors have the authority to investigate any crime committed against a German citizen, even in foreign lands.

Hofmann, the Munich prosecutor, acknowledged that he has limited powers to investigate cases outside Germany. But he said he was preparing a formal request for legal help from the Macedonian government, as well as from Albanian and Afghan officials.

"I'm confident that other information will be forthcoming," he said. "This case has a considerable political meaning. There's a certain amount of pressure on everyone involved."

Staff researcher Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.

This Gulfstream jet was ordered by a firm that appeared to be a front company for the CIA, according to records.

Khaled Masri, 41, a resident of Germany, described his four-month detention as a terror suspect during a CBS "60 Minutes" interview.