Deep Politics Forum

Italian court convicts 23 Americans of kidnapping in CIA rendition of Muslim cleric

CIA operatives and a U.S. Air Force colonel had been tried in absentia on kidnapping charges for their involvement in the 2003 abduction of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/AADB45/6BGOV/3C6JSI/9D3DNF/MNVX2/82/t

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b..

CIA agents guilty of Italy kidnap


Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr was snatched from a street in Milan

An Italian judge has convicted 23 Americans - all but one of them CIA agents - and two Italian secret agents for the 2003 kidnap of a Muslim cleric.
The agents were accused of abducting Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, known as Abu Omar, from Milan and sending him to Egypt, where he was allegedly tortured.
The trial, which began in June 2007, is the first involving the CIA's so-called "extraordinary rendition" programme.
The Obama administration has expressed its disappointment at the convictions.
"We are disappointed by the verdicts," state department spokesman Ian Kelly said in Washington.
He declined to comment further pending a written opinion from the judge, but said an appeal was likely.
Three Americans and five Italians were acquitted by the court in Milan.
Symbolic ruling
The Americans were all tried in their absence as they have not been extradited from the US to Italy.
For us, this first case puts the war on terror on trial


Joanne Mariner
Human Rights Watch spokeswoman

The CIA's Milan station chief at the time, Robert Lady, was given an eight-year term, while the other 22 Americans convicted - one of them a US air force colonel - were sentenced to five years in prison.
Lawyers for the 23 Americans said they would appeal against their convictions.
The two Italian agents, who were convicted as accomplices to kidnapping, were given three-year prison terms.
The court also ruled that those convicted must pay 1m euros ($1.5m) in damages to Abu Omar and 500,000 euros to his wife.
CIA spokesman George Little in Washington declined to comment on the convictions, telling the Associated Press news agency: "The CIA has not commented on any of the allegations surrounding Abu Omar."
Secrecy laws
Italian prosecutors said Abu Omar was taken as part of a series of extraordinary renditions carried out by the CIA - when terror suspects were moved between countries without any public legal process.
Judge Oscar Magi acquitted some of the highest-ranking defendants

They told the court he had been kidnapped in daylight on a Milan street in February 2003 and flown to Germany, and then Cairo, where he was held for years until being released without charge.
Judge Oscar Magi acquitted the CIA chief for Rome, Jeffrey Castelli, saying he was protected by state secrecy rules, as were the former head of Italy's military intelligence agency, Nicolo Pollari, and his deputy, Marco Mancini.
Mr Pollari, who resigned over the affair, told the court earlier this year that documents showing he had no involvement in the kidnapping were classified under secrecy laws.
Prosecutor Armando Spataro rejected the argument that legal provisions could shield those accused from prosecution, saying any agreement to carry out a kidnapping was "absolutely against Italian law".
He had sought a 13-year jail term for Mr Castelli and Mr Pollari and 12 years for Robert Lady.
Activist group Human Rights Watch welcomed the verdict, saying it sent "a strong signal of the crimes committed by the CIA in Europe".
Spokeswoman Joanne Mariner said: "For us, this first case puts the war on terror on trial."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8343123.stm

Bernice Moore Wrote:Italian court convicts 23 Americans of kidnapping in CIA rendition of Muslim cleric

CIA operatives and a U.S. Air Force colonel had been tried in absentia on kidnapping charges for their involvement in the 2003 abduction of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar.

For more information, visit washingtonpost.com - http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/AADB45/6BGOV/3C6JSI/9D3DNF/MNVX2/82/t

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b..

Ah, there is SO LITTLE GOOD news....it is a pleasure to read some every once and a while!......The USA has already said it will appeal and start to withhold intelligence from the Italians. Let them eat pasta!:wavey:

Only 2 people are named. Who are the other 21? Are they eligible for arrest in any and all EU countries?:call:

The US declined to allow the 21 defendants to be extradited to Italy to stand criminal prosecution.

This is in distinction to the UK (and I believe most of Europe (?)) who irresponsibly signed agreements that allow the US to extradite citizens at will (for any reason) without having to provide any sort of proof of a crime having been committed.

One ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them...

Quote:The Obama administration has expressed its disappointment at the convictions.

Quote:CIA spokesman George Little in Washington declined to comment on the convictions, telling the Associated Press news agency: "The CIA has not commented on any of the allegations surrounding Abu Omar."

Wot? Couldn't They even muster a non-denial denial?

I feel cheated. Where's today's belly laugh?

Italy is a fundamentally corrupt nation, with an egomaniac buffoon of a President who boasts of the tens of millions he's paid judges and lawyers. And still, every now and then, an Italian judge or prosecutor shows genuine integrity. Most likely at the cost of his or her career and, quite possibly, their life.

from http://www.intelligent-intelligence.com/...-officers/

Italy Extends the Prison Sentence of 23 CIA Officers

Italian courts have agreed to extend the sentence of 23 convicted CIA officers to 9 years.
The officers were first convicted for 5-8 years for allegedly kidnapping imam Osama Mustafa Hassan directly from a Milan street and exposing him to the rendition program. Hassan was taken to an Egyptian prison, and consequently tortured.
An appeal was made to extend the sentence, which received strong support from Amnesty International, and an Italian court has now complied. It has also been ordered that the CIA pay $2 million in compensation to Mr Hassan.
The trial first began in 2007, creating a diplomatic tiff with the United States. Speculations have been raised as to whether the officers believed they were operating with sanction from Italian authorities, as they left a series of obvious traces to their operation, including credit cards and mobile phones. It is currently unlikely that these rulings will bear fruitful, the U.S. still refuses to extradite the officers, and none of the accused resides in Italy, however they face arrest should any return to Europe.
Sources: AHN, The Times

And I doubt they will be using their own passports if they return to Europe either.

Still, a symbolic victory.

With the US banging on about extraditin Snowden I wonder if they will hand this fellow over to Italy?

Quote:Ex-CIA Milan chief held in Panama over cleric abduction

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 tortured.
Lady was convicted in absentia with 22 other Americans for their role in his "extraordinary rendition".
But the Italian authorities have so far only sought the international arrest of the former Milan station chief, Italian media say.
The CIA said it had no immediate comment on the arrest and Panamanian Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino told the Associated Press that he was unaware of the detention.
Panama and Italy do not have an extradition treaty, so it is unclear if Lady will be sent to Italy to serve his prison sentence.
Aliases usedLady was reportedly arrested near Panama's border with Costa Rica.
According to Italian media reports, an international warrant was sought by the justice minister in Italy's previous government in December 2012.
A prosecutor on Lady's case said the Interpol warrant reflected Italy's determination to have him extradited.
The Milan case was the first involving extraordinary rendition, the CIA's practice of transferring suspects to countries where torture is permitted.
The practice has been condemned by human rights groups as a violation of international agreements.
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, who was considered a terrorism suspect by the US, was abducted on a Milan street 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 an air force pilot, were convicted in 2009 of abducting the cleric. Their sentences were upheld last year by Italy's highest appeals court.
Three more Americans, including CIA Rome station chief Jeffrey Castelli, were convicted by an appeals court in February.
None of the 26 convicted has ever appeared in an Italian court, and only two have had any contact with their lawyers. A number of the names of those convicted are believed to be aliases, the Associated Press reports.
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.
Italy had previously said Lady was the only one of the 23 Americans that could be extradited, given the length of his sentence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23367401

Ha Ha Ha :poketongue:! Sadly, as Panama is a puppet government for the USA and also, I believe, doesn't have an extradition treaty with Italy, this is a storm in a teacup - but quite an international embarrassment for the Empire! Panama must be using this for something they'd like in 'return' from the USA for sending him home with his tail between his legs. I'm sure he has a tail! angryfire