Stephen Grey
Encyclopedia
Stephen Grey is an award-winning British investigative journalist and author best known for revealing details of the CIA's program of 'extraordinary rendition
.' He has also reported extensively from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
, St Alban's School
, and Windsor Boys School
, and then studied politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University. He was an active member of the National League of Young Liberals
and was elected to their National Executive Committee in 1984. He was one of the key members of the Young Liberal Green Guard.
After training on the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk, Grey worked successively for the Sunday Times, London, as Home Affairs Correspondent, South Asia Correspondent, European Correspondent, and as editor of the paper's investigative unit, the Insight team.
s (transfer of terror suspects to foreign jails, where many faced torture). The results of his research were first published in the New Statesman
in an article headlined 'America's Gulag' in May, 2004. After finding how to track the movements of alleged CIA planes used for rendition, he published the first flight logs of these jets in the Sunday Times in November 2004. He went on to contribute to several front page news articles to the New York Times about rendition and security issues, as well as to Newsweek
, CBS 60 Minutes
, Le Monde Diplomatique
, and BBC
Radio 4's 'File on Four'. He presented television documentaries on the CIA rendition program for Channel 4
's Dispatches Program and PBS Frontline World.
In 2005 he received the Amnesty International UK Media Award
for best article in a periodical, for his New Statesman
article.
In 2006, he received the Joe and Laurie Dine award for Best International Reporting in any medium dealing with human rights from the Overseas Press Club of America. The citation described his book, Ghost Plane, as
In a broadcast on the BBC World Service on December 30, 2009, reviewing the last ten years of journalism, author and campaigner Heather Brooke described Grey's investigation of the CIA rendition flights as the "journalistic scoop of the decade."
.
In 2009 and 2010, he returned to Afghanistan, reporting for, among other publications, the Sunday Times, Le Monde Diplomatique, and Channel 4 News. The Channel 4 film reported on criticism the United States was arming 'militias' to take on the Taliban.
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
.' He has also reported extensively from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Early career
Grey was educated at the British School of BrusselsBritish School of Brussels
The British School of Brussels , an English-language day school providing a British education for international students in Belgium, was founded in 1970 and occupies a site of about surrounded by woodland near the Royal Museum of Central Africa in the town of Tervuren, east of Brussels...
, St Alban's School
St Albans School (Hertfordshire)
St Albans School is an independent school in the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, in the East of England. Entry before Sixth Form is for boys only, and co-educational thereafter. Founded in 948 by Wulsin , St Albans School is not only the oldest school in Hertfordshire but also one of the oldest...
, and Windsor Boys School
The Windsor Boys' School
The Windsor Boys' School is an all-boys secondary school on Maidenhead Road in Windsor, Berkshire, within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Local Authority.-Admissions:...
, and then studied politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University. He was an active member of the National League of Young Liberals
National League of Young Liberals
The National League of Young Liberals , often just called the Young Liberals, was the youth wing of the British Liberal Party. It was founded in 1903 and by 1906 it had over three hundred branches. In 1934 it called for David Lloyd George to lead a Liberal New Deal revival based on the Yellow Book...
and was elected to their National Executive Committee in 1984. He was one of the key members of the Young Liberal Green Guard.
After training on the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk, Grey worked successively for the Sunday Times, London, as Home Affairs Correspondent, South Asia Correspondent, European Correspondent, and as editor of the paper's investigative unit, the Insight team.
Investigation into CIA 'rendition'
In the summer of 2003, Grey began investigating reports of the CIA's secret system of extraordinary renditionExtraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
s (transfer of terror suspects to foreign jails, where many faced torture). The results of his research were first published in the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
in an article headlined 'America's Gulag' in May, 2004. After finding how to track the movements of alleged CIA planes used for rendition, he published the first flight logs of these jets in the Sunday Times in November 2004. He went on to contribute to several front page news articles to the New York Times about rendition and security issues, as well as to Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, CBS 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, Le Monde Diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique is a monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first created mainly for a diplomatic audience as its name implies...
, and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 4's 'File on Four'. He presented television documentaries on the CIA rendition program for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Dispatches Program and PBS Frontline World.
In 2005 he received the Amnesty International UK Media Award
Amnesty International UK Media Awards
The Amnesty International Media Awards are a set of awards for human rights journalism awarded annually by the UK section of Amnesty International...
for best article in a periodical, for his New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
article.
In 2006, he received the Joe and Laurie Dine award for Best International Reporting in any medium dealing with human rights from the Overseas Press Club of America. The citation described his book, Ghost Plane, as
the consummation of years of investigation, not only by the author, but, as he acknowledges, the informal global network of journalists with whom he collaborated to reveal the murky world of rendition, extraordinary rendition and proxy torture. By tracing the landings and takeoffs of clumsily concealed CIA flights, his work not only demonstrates concerned investigative journalism in action, it lifts the lid on a global gulag of prisons and torture chambers, assembled by US officials in defiance of domestic and international human rights law.
In a broadcast on the BBC World Service on December 30, 2009, reviewing the last ten years of journalism, author and campaigner Heather Brooke described Grey's investigation of the CIA rendition flights as the "journalistic scoop of the decade."
Investigations Fund
In 2009 Grey set up the Investigations Fund, who are linked to Bureau of Investigative JournalismBureau of Investigative Journalism
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is a British not-for-profit news organisation backed by a number of prominent journalists. It is registered as a private, limited by guarantee, no share capital company. It was set up with the aim to produce and encourage independent serious investigations and...
.
Afghanistan reports
In 2009, he also published his second book, Operation Snakebite, an account of the war in Helmand, Afghanistan, centring on the December 2007 operation by British, American and Afghan troops to recapture the town of Musa Qala, a battle which Grey reported as an embedded reporter for the Sunday Times of London. A Channel 4 Dispatches film reported by Grey titled "Afghanistan: Mission Impossible" was short-listed for a Royal Television Society award for independent film-maker of 2009.In 2009 and 2010, he returned to Afghanistan, reporting for, among other publications, the Sunday Times, Le Monde Diplomatique, and Channel 4 News. The Channel 4 film reported on criticism the United States was arming 'militias' to take on the Taliban.
Books
- Operation Snakebite: The Explosive True Story of an Afghan Desert Siege London: Viking Penguin, 2009.
- Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006.