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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 14th,
2008 - Italian Judge: Berlusconi to Testify in CIA Case |
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Italian Judge:
Berlusconi to Testify in CIA Case By Colleen Barry Associated Press May 14, 2008 Milan, Italy - An Italian
judge ruled Wednesday that Premier Silvio Berlusconi will be called to
testify in the trial of 26 Americans and several Italians charged with
kidnapping a terror suspect during a CIA operation. Judge Oscar Magi approved
the defense request as the case resumed. Magi also ruled that former Premier
Romano Prodi and senior officials from both Berlusconi's and Prodi's past
governments will be called to testify. Berlusconi, who has just
been re-elected to another term, is considered a key witness because he was
premier when Egyptian cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr disappeared in
February 2003. Italian prosecutors say
Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was abducted on a Milan street as part of the
CIA's program of extraordinary rendition, in which terror suspects are moved
from country to country without public legal proceedings. The CIA has declined comment
on the case. Berlusconi's testimony had
been requested by lawyers for Nicolo Pollari, a former intelligence chief who
is one of the defendants in the case. Pollari hopes the testimony
might help prove that he was against the rendition, lawyers said. He could
face from one to 10 years in jail if convicted. Pollari has denied any
involvement by Italian intelligence in the abduction. Berlusconi, one of the United
States' close allies in its battle against terrorism, has expressed support
for Pollari and has maintained his government was not informed about the
operation and did not take part in it. The trial is the first
involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. At the time of his
disappearance, Nasr was also under investigation in Italy for suspicion of
involvement in international terrorism. Italian prosecutors say the
cleric was transferred to U.S. bases in Italy and Germany before being moved
to Egypt, where he was imprisoned for four years. Nasr, who was released last
year, says he was tortured. All but one American suspect
in the case have been identified by prosecutors as CIA agents. They are being
tried in absentia, and their Italian lawyers are all court-appointed, having
had no direct contact with their clients. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i_UjHVOokrNOfT4KeJ9TkKd4CTNAD90LBDS00 |