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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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September 17th,
2008 - Trial of ‘Extraordinary Rendition’ CIA Agents will Go Ahead |
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Trial of ‘Extraordinary
Rendition’ CIA Agents will Go Ahead By Richard Owen The Times September 17, 2008 An Italian judge today
rejected a request by Niccolo Pollari, former head of Italian military
intelligence, SISMI, for the trial of 26 CIA agents and nine Italian agents
over the abduction of a Muslim cleric on a Milan street five years ago to be
suspended. The judge, Oscar Magi, said
the trial over the "extraordinary rendition" in 2003 of Hassan
Mustafa Omar Nasr, known as Abu Omar, would go ahead. However he ruled that
the witnesses, including Italian secret service officers from SISMI, Italian military
intelligence, should be heard in camera. Mr Pollari had argued the
trial should be suspended pending the outcome legal action by Silvio
Berlusconi, the Prime Minister. Mr Berlusconi, who was in power at the time
of the abduction and was again elected last April, has been called to
testify. He has argued that the case
is covered by provisions on state secrets. Opposing a trial suspension
however Armando Spataro, the Milan prosecutor, said human rights bodies, the
European Parliament and the Council of Europe were all expecting the trial to
go ahead. Nine Italians, including Mr
Pollari, are on trial together with the CIA agents, who however are being
tried in absentia because the US has refused to extradite them. The case
relates to the alleged kidnapping of Abu Omar, the imam at Milan's main
mosque, by a team of CIA operatives with the co-operation and knowledge of
SISMI officers as part of the controversial extraordinary rendition programme
in which.terrorist suspects were interrogated in third countries. Abu Omar was flown via the
Nato base at Ramstein in Germany to Egypt, where he claims he was tortured.
The prosecution says this was not only a breach of Italian sovereignty but
also compromised Italy's own investigations into the imam, who was suspected
of using the Milan mosque as a cover for aiding Islamic terrorists. Last year he was released
from an Egyptian prison, and is demanding compensation from the Italian
government. The trial began in June. External link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4776079.ece |