Italian court sentences US agents in abduction case

MILAN - A Milan court Wednesday sentenced 23 US citizens, most of them believed to work for the CIA, to multi-year prison terms for the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric six years ago in a controversial rendition case.

The Americans, who were convicted in absentia, as well as two Italian agents received jail terms ranging from three to eight years for the 2003 abduction of Abu Omar, who was lifted off a Milan street then flown to Egypt via the US air base at Ramstein, Germany. He was held until 2007 without charges and alleges he was tortured.

The case was among the more infamous cases of “extraordinary rendition” employed by the CIA in the war on terrorism. The practice involves kidnapping a suspect in one country and flying the individual to a third nation for interrogation.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters the United States was disappointed by the outcome and expected the case would be appealed.

“We are disappointed by the verdicts against the Americans and Italians charged in Milan for their alleged involvement in the case involving Egyptian cleric Abu Omar,” Kelly said.

The Milan court began hearing the case more than two years ago against a a total of 26 US nationals and seven Italians, including a former head of the Italian secret service Sismi, Nicolo Pollari.

Charges against Pollari, as well as three of the US defendants, were dropped because of diplomatic immunity.

The US had refused to extradite any of the Americans to stand trial, and the government in Rome refused to process an extradition request issued by Milan prosecutors in 2007. The Italian government insisted on the need to protect secret operations between the two countries.

The judge also ordered those convicted to pay the Muslim cleric 1 million euros ($1.48 million) in compensation.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was in power when the abduction occurred, has said several times his government had no advance knowledge of the kidnapping. Pollari also said he was unaware of illegal CIA activities in Italy.