The CIA’s chief watchdog, a critic of the agency’s use of secret prisons and interrogation tactics, has been put under investigation, raising suspicions that the Bush Administration is trying to muzzle him.

General Michael Hayden, the CIA director, has ordered an internal inquiry into the work of General John Helgerson, the agency's inspector-general, who has accused CIA officials of breaching torture conventions.

In a report issued in spring 2004, General Helgerson said that some CIA interrogation procedures constituted cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as internationally defined. He is about to complete a report on the CIA’s use of “rendition” - seizing suspects off streets and from their homes and sending them to foreign countries for interrogation. He is also to report on the agency’s detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists.

The review that has been ordered is believed to focus on complaints from agency officials that Mr Helgerson has not been impartial in investigating the CIA’s detention and interrogation procedure, but is instead on a campaign against “ghost” prisons and rendition.

Five months ago a federal official looking into waste and corruption in Iraq was put under investigation by a congressional committee with close ties to the White House. Stuart Bowen has issued withering reports about waste and fraud in Iraq, embarrassing to the Bush Administration. This year he narrowly escaped a Republican attempt to cut off funding for his office.

The power of inspector-generals in agencies across Washington is under question. This month the Administration threatened to veto a Bill that would strengthen their independence by giving them longer terms and protection from unjustified dismissal.

A CIA official said that General Hayden’s move did not amount to an “investigation” of the agency’s inspector-general, saying: “His only goal is to help this office, like any office at the agency, do its vital work better.”

General Helgerson sharply criticised the agency this year for its intelligence failures before the September 11 terrorist attacks. The report recommended “accountability boards” to consider disciplinary action.

Some senior CIA officials have complained to General Hayden that they have been unfairly criticised by General Helgerson, and that careers have been stalled or ruined.

Secret rendition

— A 2006 Council of Europe report estimated that 100 people had been kidnapped by the CIA on EU territory and rendered to other countries

— A European Parliament report this year said that the CIA had conducted 1,245 flights, many to destinations where suspects could face torture

Source: Council of Europe

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