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CIA probe breached state secrets: Italian court
Italy's constitutional court Wednesday dealt a heavy blow to a case against U.S. and Italian intelligence agents accused of kidnapping an Egyptian terror suspect, saying the probe violated state secrets. The trial, which was suspended pending the court's ruling, is the first in Europe into the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program involving the secret transfers of terrorism suspects to third countries known to practice torture. Twenty-six American defendants -- 25 CIA agents and a U.S. air force colonel -- are being tried in absentia along with seven Italians including the former head of Italian military intelligence, Nicolo Pollari, who was forced to resign over the affair. The court ruled that wiretap surveillance of the Italian secret services contravened state secrecy laws, but a lawyer for the prosecution, Alessandro Pace, said the decision did not doom their case. "The trial still holds, and only part of the evidence, and not all of the wiretap transcripts, are covered by the state secrecy laws," Pace said. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-14 |
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