Italian Judge Convicts Americans in 2003 CIA Kidnapping of Egyptian Cleric

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MILAN, Italy - On Wednesday, an Italian judge found twenty three Americans and two Italians guilty in the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric as a terror suspect. The convictions mark the first ever legal convictions anywhere against those involved in the CIA's extraordinary renditions program.

During the Bush administration, the CIA engaged in the practice of abducting terror suspects. The terror suspects were then transferred to countries where torture was permitted. The Obama administration ended the program and closed the oversees jails this past January.

 
Photo: Judge Oscar Magi reading the conviction of twenty three Americans implicated in the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in 2003. [Source: Luca Bruno / AP - Nov. 4, 2009]

The American and Italian agents were convicted of kidnapping Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, in Milan on February 17, 2003. Nasr was then moved to Egypt, where he says he was tortured. He was later released in Egypt, but was not allowed to attend the trial in Italy.

 
Photo: A mid-1990s passport Photo of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr. [Source: Marsela Glina/Chicago Tribune]
 
The American defendants were tried in absentia by the Italian court. Several American and Italian defendants, including the two masterminds of the abduction, were acquitted on diplomatic immunity grounds or because Italy's highest court struck certain classified information. The three acquitted Americans include the former Rome CIA station chief, Jeffrey Castelli, and two other diplomats assigned to the embassy in Rome. The former head of Italian military police, Nicolo Pollari, and four other Italian secret service agents were also acquitted.

The former CIA station chief of Milan, Robert Seldon Lady, received the top sentence of eight years in prison. The twenty two other convicted Americans each received five-year sentences, and the two Italians both received three-years for their roles as accessories to the abduction.  

Among the convicted is former Milan consular official, Sabrina De Sousa, who is currently suing the State Department. De Sousa, a former State Department employee, denies that she was a CIA agent and believes that she should have been extended diplomatic immunity. However, diplomatic immunity was not extended to those consular officials charged.

De Sousa's attorney, Mark Zaid, said: "The Italian conviction merely confirms the U.S. government's betrayal of our diplomatic and military representatives oversees."

Prosecutor Armando Spataro has said that he was considering asking Rome to issue international arrest warrants for the apprehension of the convicted Americans. However, the Italian government, under President Silvio Berlusconi, has refused to issue the arrest warrants.

So long as the verdicts remain in place, the convicted Americans risk arrest if they travel to Europe.

For more information, please see:

AP - Italian judge convicts 23 in CIA kidnap case - 4 November 2009

Guardian.co.uk - Rendition trial ends with Milan CIA chief given eight years - 4 November 2009

Los Angeles Times - Judge in Italy convicts 23 Americans in 2003 CIA kidnapping of Egyptian cleric - 4 November 2009

NY Times - Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I..A. Renditions - 4 November 2009