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| Europe | ||
| Wanted Cia Agent Claims Rome Knew About Omar Kidnap | ||
| 2005-11-30 | ||
| Rome, 30 Nov. (AKI) - One of the 22 CIA agents wanted in Italy over the kidnapping of Egyptian imam Abu Omar from a street in Milan in February 2003 has claimed in his defence that the Italian authorities were well aware of the operation. The lawyer for Robert Seldon Lady, who headed the CIA's Milan station from 2000 to January 2004, made the claim while challenging the warrant issued for his arrest by Italian prosecutors in June this year, saying his actions had "explicit, or at least implicit authorisation from the Italian government." However, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reports that "the CIA has lost the first legal round" in its fight to legitimise its practice of 'extraordinary renditions', which involves the capturing and deporting of foreign terror suspects without any trial to countries where they could be tortured. Milan judge Enrico Manzi rejected the first line of defence used by Lady's lawyer, with a verdict establishing that no diplomatic immunity or state secret can authorise "the capture of suspects outside of every judiciary control" by either Italian or foreign secret services. Manzi therefore declared the rendition "an act of force" which "violates the sovereignty of Italy" and cannot be justified.
Omar was already under surveillance by Italian police when he was kidnapped, suspected of having links with terrorist groups and recruiting young people to be used as martyrs in Iraq. Milan investigating magistrates say he was first taken to the Aviano American air base in northern Italy and transferred to a military base at Ramstein in Germany, from where he was then flown to Egypt in a private plane hired by the CIA. Since then he has been held at the high security Tora prison, where, he told a friend when he was briefly released, he was tortured to the point of being left partially paralysed. Pressure has been growing for an explanation into dozens of CIA flights through Europe thought to have picked up and delivered terror suspects to prisons in countries where they may subsequently have been tortured. An investigation has been opened in Germany into the use of the Ramstein base in the Abu Omar rendition. Italian investigators found a photograph of Abu Omar on Lady's computer, taken on the street he was seized from 33 days before he disappeared. His wife had deleted all the files on his computer, but on rebuilding the hard drive, police are reported to have found evidence that he had run searches for the shortest route from the Milan street where Omar was kidnapped to Aviano. A list of the luxurious hotels in Milan the agents accused of being involved in the kidnapping stayed in was also found in the rubbish bin in his garage.
In her first appeal, Lady's lawyer Daria Pesce, claimed he was innocent or "only following orders" and was occupying the role of consul at the time, giving him "diplomatic immunity" which also covered him for "special missions". However, this argument was rejected by the judge, who decreed that immunity does not cover "serious crimes like kidnapping". State secrets, he argued, protect "the security of Italian democracy" and not "actions carried out by foreign operatives". The Italian government and intelligence service SISMI have always denied knowledge of the operation to capture Abu Omar. However, Lady's lawyer stated twice in his defence that "Lady, in his consular role as intelligence supervisor, undoubtedly enjoyed the authorisation of the US government in agreement with the political authorities of the Italian state" and this "Italian approval" was "indispensible" for a "special mission sent by the United States". Italy's La Repubblica newspaper speculated on Wednesday that Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi could soon find himself forced to make a difficult choice: "Turn the whole affair into a state secret, thereby admitting that Palazzo Chigi [the Prime Minister's office] knew, or alternatively, hand over to the Milan prosecutor's office the names of those who authorised or kept quiet about the kidnapping of Abu Omar." While the Bush administration has publicly defended the extraordinary rendition practice, it has always denied complicity in any torture the suspect may later have suffered in the country he was sent to. | ||
| Posted by:Steve |
| #11 I'd forgotten that detail Bz, |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-11-30 17:28 |
| #10 Besoeker: Thanks for adding the historic detail. "I will never forget seeing the Italian police..." Yeah, what he said. This war did not start on 9/11, and some of us do remember. |
| Posted by: Dave 2005-11-30 15:51 |
| #9 Hosni Mubarak allowed PLF leader and hijacking mastermind, Mohammed Abbas, and the other terrorists to fly to their headquarters in Tunisia. President Ronald Reagan sent U.S. warplanes to intercept the flight, and forced it to land at a U.S.- Italian air base in Sicily. The United States and Italy fought over jurisdiction in the case, but the Italians refused to extradite any of the men. eventually made his way to Iraq where he was believed to be a conduit for Saddam Hussein's payments to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. Abbas was captured by U.S. forces in a raid in Iraq on April 15, 2003. He died on March 9, 2004, at the age of 56 in U.S. custody in Iraq. Klinghoffer's daughters said, âNow, with his death, justice will be denied. The one consolation for us is that Abul Abbas died in captivity, not as a free man.â I will never forget seeing the Italian police surround the US take-down bird. US forces were ordered to 'stand down.' Thank you Italy for letting this piece of scum do his stuff for nearly twenty years AFTER he highjacked the Italian Achilles Lauro, one of your own ships. http://www.geocities.com/americanmemorial/leon.html |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-30 15:21 |
| #8 I remember when the Italians helped Klinghoffer's killers free. (Thanks for the troops in Iraq and all, but we do realize that Italy IS playing both sides of the street) |
| Posted by: Dave 2005-11-30 14:44 |
| #7 we've demanded - and got - Russian (?) diplomats to stand trial From what I understand, the respective government has to agree and cut the diplomats loose. If they don't agree, most you can do is kick them out of the country. |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-11-30 11:51 |
| #6 True, but we've demanded - and got - Russian (?) diplomats to stand trial for hit and run accidents that killed people IIRC. |
| Posted by: lotp 2005-11-30 11:20 |
| #5 So immunity doesn't apply with regard to crimes, eh? Exactly how many traffic tickets have the Italians in New York City and Washington D.C. have racked up? |
| Posted by: Ptah 2005-11-30 11:14 |
| #4 SISMI have always denied knowledge of the operation to capture Abu Omar And always will by the way. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-30 11:01 |
| #3 Hey - why not just sanction us? Yes, use your army and sanction us. Oh wait, you don't have jack for military? Then maybe they should STFU. |
| Posted by: flash91 2005-11-30 10:43 |
| #2 The COS Lady could shout in hte middle of room that he is guilty of everything and the Judge still couldn't hold him or try him from a crime because of his immunity. The judge knows this and is just trying to make a name for himself with the Italian Lefties. P.S. I aint shedding any tears for Omar. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-11-30 10:35 |
| #1 hmmm.. don't know much about undercover practices - but A list of the luxurious hotels in Milan the agents accused of being involved in the kidnapping stayed in was also found in the rubbish bin in his garage seems to be the type of evidence that could easily be planted. Especially if the Italian Authorities were well aware of where they had been staying. I wonder if it wasn't that these guys were sloppy, but that the Italian Authorities found it easy to get info on them because they were aware of the operation and now, for whatever reason, the Italians are trying to pretend that they were not. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-11-30 10:09 |