| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Italy seeks extradition of CIA 'rendition' agents |
| 2005-11-12 |
| I find myself wondering if this is a re-election stunt on behalf of Berlusconi, who is running on an anti-American platform. He is also facing possible corruption and kickback charges. Italian prosecutors requested the extradition of 22 CIA agents, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Friday, in connection with an abduction case that has caused embarrassment in both Rome and Washington. The agents are accused of secretly kidnapping a suspect Islamic terrorist in the northern city of Milan in 2003, and moving him to a third country for interrogation in a U.S. practice known as "extraordinary rendition". Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, an Egyptian national and former imam at a mosque in Milan, was being investigated by Italian police at the time of his disappearance. Local prosecutors suspect he was abducted by a commando unit of CIA agents and then flown to Egypt via Germany. The cleric, also known as Abu Omar, later told his wife he had been tortured and beaten while being questioned in Egypt. The Italian government has denied any knowledge of the operation. The extradition request has been sent to Italy's Justice Ministry, which must now forward it to the U.S. government. According to Corriere, it may be blocked by Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli, who has just returned from a meeting in Washington with U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. So the headline should read "Italian prosecutors seek CIA agents", because the Italian government has not yet made that request to the US. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |