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In Italy, Verdict Expected In CIA Rendition Trial

Published November 4, 2009 12:01 AM

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Judges in Italy are expected to hand down a verdict Wednesday in the first-ever trial examining the practice known as extraordinary rendition.

Twenty-six Americans, mostly CIA agents, are being tried in absentia. Together with seven Italians, they are charged with kidnapping a Muslim cleric who was taken to Egypt, where he says he was tortured.

Human rights activists say that during the Bush administration, extraordinary rendition was the CIA's way of outsourcing the torture of prisoners to countries where it is practiced.

The prosecution says that in February 2003, CIA agents, with the help of Italian intelligence officials, grabbed Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr on a street in Milan. The cleric, also known as Abu Omar, was under investigation in Italy for terrorism. After spending nearly four years in a Cairo prison, he was released under house arrest.

In a 2007 interview with Italian TV, he described being abducted by men he said looked and sounded American. He said he was blindfolded and put on a plane to Cairo.

In prison, he said, "they beat me with nightsticks. They walked over my body. They tied me up and hung me from my feet. They tortured me with an electric current. The worst was the genital torture. I was handcuffed for 14 months."

State Secrets

Court documents showed that the Abu Omar kidnapping was expensive and sloppy. The CIA suspects were tracked down thanks to cell phone calls made near the abduction site, and credit card payments showing car rental and hotel bills totaling more than $150,000.

Prosecutors allege that the agents' carelessness derived from their sense of impunity.

Italy is a loyal ally of the United States, and successive governments — both on the right and the left — tried to obstruct the investigation, citing state secrecy. No effort was made to extradite the Americans, and no comment has come from the CIA.

Last March, the constitutional court ruled that a portion of the prosecution's evidence could not be used because it is classified. But Leo Sisti, a terrorism analyst who has followed the trial, says the prosecution was able to show that the CIA was behind the extraordinary rendition.

"There are other documents that proved the connection between those agents and the kidnapping of Abu Omar," he says.

A Prosecutor's Conviction

The lead prosecutor is Armando Spataro, who made his name with a series of big trials against the Mafia and leftist terrorists. He patiently put together the Abu Omar kidnapping case piece by piece. He believes that democratic societies can combat terrorism only through rule of law.

"Illegal actions, such as capturing a person without judicial authorization and secret prisons, do not increase faith in our system. Rather, they give extremists more reasons to proselytize against us and lead them to believe ours is only a so-called democracy," he says.

Spataro is seeking a 13-year jail term for the former CIA chief in Rome, Jeff Castelli, and 12 years for the former CIA chief in Milan, Robert Seldon Lady. He has asked for 10 to 11 years for the other defendants.

Most of the Americans were represented by court-appointed counselors who never met their clients. Defense lawyers said their clients either enjoyed diplomatic immunity at the time of Abu Omar's disappearance or — if there was indeed a CIA order for his kidnapping — they should be found innocent because they were following orders.

View audio transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

In Italy, judges are expected to hand down a verdict in the first-ever trial involving the practice known as extraordinary rendition. Americans, 26 of them - mostly CIA agents - are being tried in absentia. There are also seven Italians charged with kidnapping a Muslim cleric who was taken to Egypt, where he says he was tortured. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Milan.

SYLVIA POGGIOLI: The prosecution says that in February 2003, CIA agents, with the help of Italian intelligence officials, grabbed Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr on a Milan street. The cleric, also known as Abu Omar, was under investigation in Italy for terrorism. After spending nearly four years in a Cairo prison, Abu Omar was released under house arrest.

In a 2007 interview with Italian TV, he described being abducted by men he said looked and sounded American. He said he was blindfolded and put on a plane to Cairo. And he described what happened to him in prison.

Mr. ABU OMAR (Muslim cleric): (Through translator) They beat me with nightsticks. They walked over my body. They tied me up and hung me from my feet. They tortured me with an electric current. The worst was the genital torture. I was handcuffed for 14 months.

POGGIOLI: Human rights activists charge that during the Bush administration, extraordinary renditions were the CIA's way to outsource torture of prisoners to countries where it is practiced. Court documents show that the Abu Omar kidnapping was expensive and sloppy. The CIA suspects were tracked down thanks to cell phone calls made from near the abduction site, and credit card payments showing car rental and hotel bills totaling more than $150,000. Prosecutors suspect the agents' carelessness derived from their sense of impunity.

Italy is a loyal ally of the United States, and successive governments ? both on the right and the left ? tried to obstruct the investigation, citing state secrecy, and no effort was made to extradite the Americans, and no comment has come from the CIA.

Last March, the constitutional court ruled that a portion of the prosecution's evidence could not be used because it's classified. But Leo Sisti, a terrorism analyst who has closely followed the trial, says the prosecution was able to show the CIA was behind the extraordinary rendition.

Mr. LEO SISTI (Terrorism analyst): There are other documents that proved the connection between those agents and the kidnapping of Abu Omar.

POGGIOLI: The lead prosecutor is Armando Spataro, who made his name with a series of big trials against the Mafia and leftist terrorists. He patiently put together the Abu Omar kidnapping, piece by piece. He adamantly believes that democratic societies can combat terrorism only through rule of law.

Mr. ARMANDO SPATARO (Attorney): (Through translator) Illegal actions, such as capturing a person without judicial authorization and secret prisons, do not increase faith in our system. Rather, they give extremists more reasons to proselytize against us, and lead them to believe ours is only a so-called democracy.

POGGIOLI: Spataro is seeking a 13-year jail term for the former CIA chief in Rome, Jeff Castelli, and 12 years for the former CIA chief in Milan, Robert Seldon Lady. He has asked for 10 to 11 years for the other defendants.

Most of the Americans were represented by court-appointed counselors who never met their clients. Defense lawyers claim their clients either enjoyed diplomatic immunity at the time of Abu Omar's disappearance or - if there was, indeed, a CIA order for his kidnapping ? the defendants should be found innocent because they were following orders.

Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Milan.

(Soundbite of music)

MONTAGNE: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Source: NPR

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