Fresh allegations in The Washington Post that the CIA ran secret interrogation cells in Thailand have been denied by the country’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, ahead of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s arrival for an Asean conference.

The fresh accusations, published Sunday, were contained in a lengthy article based on interviews with current and former US government and CIA officials into the interrogation of terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah.

The article claimed Zubaydah, now aged 38, was sent to a secret CIA prison in Thailand for interrogation after his capture on March 28, 2002, by CIA and FBI agents working with Pakistani intelligence services.

The story claims that Zubaydah, who has more than 35 aliases, was flown to Thailand as CIA mandarin’s at it’s headquarters in Langley, Va., brainstormed over techniques to make him talk.

In March, The Washington Post ran an earlier report and Abhisit also denied it at the time.

The fresh accusations come as the US Senate intelligence committee examines the CIA’s interrogation program, focusing in part on the role of Mitchell and John “Bruce” Jessen, former CIA contractors who helped design and oversee Abu Zubaida’s interrogation.

Yesterday, as preparations were being made for the 43rd Asean summit plus six regional dialogue partners, which Clinton will attend on the Thai holiday island of Phuket, the Thai PM again refuted the claims labeling them, “an old story” and “totally groundless.”

According to Abhisit, “this government has never resorted to the use of violent means.”

Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, also claimed that the report of a secret CIA prison in Thailand was groundless, saying that he thought it suspicious that the report surfaced during the Asean meeting in Phuket.