MILAN (Reuters) – An Italian judge sentenced 23 former CIA agents to up to eight years in prison on Wednesday for the abduction of a Muslim cleric in a landmark ruling against the “rendition” flights used by the former U.S. government.
Judge Oscar Magi dropped the case against another three American defendants and the ex-head of the Italy’s Sismi military intelligence service, Nicolo Pollari, as well as his former deputy.
From the Guardian:
The Americans are accused of kidnapping Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, on Feb. 17, 2003, off a street in Milan, then transferring him to U.S. bases in Italy and Germany. He was then moved to Egypt, where he says he was tortured. He was released after four years in prison without being charged.
The trial is the first by any government over the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program, which transferred suspects overseas for interrogation. Human rights advocates charge that renditions were the CIA’s way to outsource the torture of prisoners to countries where it is permitted.
The convicted Americans have been tried in absentia.
It would be good to have a copy of the decision in this case – in English, as I don’t speak Italian.