10-02-2011, 09:51 AM
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
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
The most relevant literature regarding what happened since September 11, 2001 is George Orwell's "1984".