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| Ex-CIA Milan chief held in Panama over cleric abduction |
| 2013-07-18 |
| A former CIA station chief convicted by an Italian court of kidnapping a terror suspect has been detained in Panama, Italian officials say. Robert Seldon Lady was sentenced to nine years in jail for his involvement in the abduction of the man, an Egyptian cleric, in Milan in 2003. The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was allegedly flown to Egypt and Lady was convicted in absentia with 22 other Americans for their But the Italian authorities have so far only sought the international arrest of the former Milan station chief, Italian media say. However, Panamanian Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino told the Associated Press that he was unaware of the detention. The CIA said it had no immediate comment. Lady was reportedly arrested near Panama's border with Costa Rica. The Milan case was the first involving extraordinary rendition, the CIA's practice of transferring suspects to countries where torture is Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, who was considered a terrorism suspect by the US, was abducted in February 2003 and transferred between US military bases in Italy and Germany before being brought to Egypt. Twenty-two CIA agents, including Lady, and one air force pilot were convicted in 2009 of abducting the cleric. Their sentences were upheld last year by Italy's highest appeals court. Lady reportedly rushed back to the US in 2007, when court hearings began in Milan to decide whether to put the 23 Americans on trial. He said he had opposed the proposal to kidnap the imam, but was overruled. A previous Italian government has said Lady was the only one of the 23 Americans that could be extradited, given the length of his sentence. If Lady is extradited, he is likely to spend six years in prison under a 2006 amnesty by the country. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #10 IN other words, I need to be careful about pushing back my chair whilst my hands are still near the keyboard |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-07-18 22:29 |
| #9 yep - thats what I was writing it for, sunday. Problem is, a quick tab and leaning on the keyboard (accidentally hitting enter) can do the job well before intent enters the picture. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-07-18 22:27 |
| #8 Oh Rantburg, where is they delete button for certain regulars? They call it the Preview button, OldSpook dear, as well you know. Being as you are not only a 'certain' regular but a computer professional in your own right. Let me suggest Sunday for the piece you are working on -- that way it will get the widest possible readership, not to mention time for pondering that is lacking even on Saturdays. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2013-07-18 20:44 |
| #7 its because I was just flowing some thoughts, rather than organizing them and looking at them critically - jsut spur of the moment brainstorming that hadnt had any weeding applied to it. I'd rather not have such stuff posted, and will next time write offline first. Oh Rantburg, where is they delete button for certain regulars? |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-07-18 18:49 |
| #6 provocative |
| Posted by: Dopey Sinatra 2013-07-18 17:24 |
| #5 Dunno, OS. It's all sorta Joe-like in its provacative opacity. |
| Posted by: Dopey Sinatra 2013-07-18 17:23 |
| #4 Mods please delete everything after the second paragraph. I inadvertently hit enter, and was typing up some underdeveloped thoughts to post to the opinions section this weekend. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-07-18 16:21 |
| #3 If Obama doesnt slap this down in a hurry, then the CIA and the political Obama-asskissing worms at the top might be in big trouble - because the rank and file will not sit still for being sold out. ANd trust me, no matter how they spin it, those that do the work will see it as just that - a sell out by the very men they leaked to put into office. More proof of my contention that the CIA needs to be dismantled, parted out to other agencies and the military, then figuratively burned to the ground and rebuilt as a much more single purpose agency, along the lines of the OSS from which it came. ANd that also means that most of the rest of the IC needs a similar dismantling and rebuild, with some agencies diminished, some created, and some removed entirely from their current structure (Dept State's own intel for instance, needs to be fully integrated with other agencies to reduce redundancy and increase visibility of data to them and from them).
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| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-07-18 16:19 |
| #2 If you've got a foreign country looking to put you in jail, and the U.S. isn't giving you up, DON'T LEAVE THE U.S.! |
| Posted by: Barbara 2013-07-18 15:53 |
| #1 Someone say Panama? |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-07-18 15:37 |