Italy judge orders CIA-linked arrests over kidnap

[Turley]

An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 foreigners tied to the CIA for allegedly kidnapping an Egyptian terrorism suspect in Milan two years ago and flying him to Egypt for questioning, judicial sources said on Friday.

The foreigners "linked to the CIA" seized imam Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, on a Milan street on Feb. 17, 2003, Milan-based judge Chiara Nobili said in the arrest warrants issued on Thursday, according to the sources.

Nasr was taken to a U.S. base in Aviano and flown home for questioning, the sources added.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24385302.htm

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ReadTomPaine]

2. Toothless gesture

As much as I'd prefer it to be otherwise, Italy is little more than a large airbase for the USA at this time.

From the travesty of the "investigation" into the ski-lift tragedy where 20 people were killed when a Marine prowler sliced thru the support cable while buzzing tourists for pilot amusement to the killing of Italian intelligence hero Nicola Calipari by US troops during his hostage rescue, they've proven again and again that they will do as they are told despite how poorly we treat them.

Berlusconi's chain was pulled so tight after he announced troop withdrawal that his eyes were bulging and his neck was bruised when he issued his retraction shortly after he received his marching orders from DC. He looked like Frist after the "Bolton Lunch".

Here's to hoping I'm proven wrong. I've love to see these 13 put on trial and convicted.

Photo of the CIA "Extraction plane" used for Extraordinary Rendition. It's now numbered N8068V and registered to Premiere Executive Transport Services Inc. This is one private jet you don't want to spend time on.

[Spazito]

4. Here is an article on that 'leased' aircraft

Terror suspects' torture claims have Mass. link
Secrecy shrouds transfer jet

snip

Since that time, the jet -- apparently on long-term lease to the US military -- has surfaced in other alleged cases of what the CIA calls "extraordinary" rendition -- the secret practice of handing prisoners in US custody to foreign governments that don't hesitate to use torture in interrogations.

The covert procedure, which must be authorized by a presidential directive, has gained little attention inside the United States.

Yet, "extraordinary rendition," one of the earliest tools employed in the war against terror, has outraged human rights activists and former CIA agents, who say it violates the international convention on torture and amounts to "outsourcing" torture.

"People are more or less openly admitting that there are certain practices that we would rather not do in the US, so why not let our allies do it?" said Ray McGovern, a former CIA operations officer who has frequently criticized the tactics used in the war on terror.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2004/11/29/terror_suspects_torture_claims_have_mass_link/

[maddezmom]

5. AP headline: Italy Judge Orders Arrest of 13 CIA Agents

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050624/ap_on_re_eu/italy_cia_1

[gulfcoastliberal]

9. You think they get a pre-taxi cocktail on there?

Naw, they're probably thrown in the baggage compartment while the thugs in the cabin pop champagne and eat caviar. Maybe even watch Mary Cary porn as in flight entertainment?

[maddezmom]

3. a former U.S. consul to Milan was among those ordered arrested

[justinsb]

6. CIA agents 'face arrest over kidnap'

CIA agents 'face arrest over kidnap'

From correspondents in Rome

June 24, 2005

ITALIAN authorities have issued arrest warrants for 13 agents of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) accused of kidnapping an Islamic leader in northern Italy, an Italian newspaper reported today.

Osama Mustafa Hassan, also known as Abu Omar, was seized in a street of Milan on February 17, 2003, by two Italian-speakers claiming to want to check his identity, Corriere della Sera  reported.

He has not been seen since.

Hassan was the former imam of a Milan mosque that had been placed under close watch following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.

The agents are suspected of abducting Hassan and transferring him to the US military base at Aviano in northern Italy, and from there to an Egyptian jail.

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=3340513

[gulfcoastliberal]

7. kick

[donkeyotay]

8. I thought 9-11 changed everything

We don't have to respect the law anymore. It's wildwest, neoCon justice all the way.

[jarab]

10. kick !

...O...

[cyberpj]

11. So - isn't Italy a Sovereign Nation? And isn't that why we're NOT

going after OBL?

Looks like they better think up another reason why they're leaving OBL alone.

[NNN0LHI]

12. I bet the USA rushes to turn these CIA agents over to...

...the Italian authorities for their trial. Yep the US will extradite them real soon. Wonder why the Italian people never get pissed off at this stuff? The USA must have the whole country on the payroll. What a sweet deal.

Don

[CottonBear]

13. Guardian story: Italy Judge Orders Arrest of 13 CIA Agents

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5096471,00.html
Italy Judge Orders Arrest of 13 CIA Agents

Friday June 24, 2005 6:01 PM

AP Photo MIL102

By AIDAN LEWIS

Associated Press Writer

ROME (AP) - An Italian judge ordered the arrests of 13 people in the purported CIA abduction of an imam, who then was sent to Egypt, the Milan prosecutor's office said Friday. An Italian official said earlier the 13 were CIA officers involved in U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.

The 13 are suspected of seizing Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar, on the streets of Milan on Feb. 17, 2003, and sending him to Egypt, where he reportedly was tortured, Milan prosecutor Manlio Claudio Minale said in a statement.

snip

The prosecutor's statement did not name any of the suspects, give their nationalities or mention the CIA by name, but an Italian official familiar with the investigation confirmed newspaper reports Friday that the suspects were working for the CIA. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

snip

Prosecutors believe the officers seized Omar as part of the CIA's ``extraordinary rendition'' program, in which terror suspects are transferred to third countries without court approval, according to reports Friday in newspapers Corriere della Sera and Il Giorno.

more...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5096471,00.html

[kat21]

14. The MSM has dropped the ball once again!

[struggle4progress]

15. It looks to me like this one is getting coverage today:

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=ISO-8859-1&scoring=d&q=Italy+CIA&sa=N&start=0

[Moderator]

16. Kick

--- because this keeps getting duplicated ---

[FourStarDemocrat]

17. Thirteen With the C.I.A. Sought by Italy in a Kidnapping

By STEPHEN GREY and DON VAN NATTA
Published: June 25, 2005 New York Times

MILAN, June 24 - An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 officers and operatives of the Central Intelligence Agency on charges that they seized an Egyptian cleric on a Milan street two years ago and flew him to Egypt for questioning, Italian prosecutors and investigators said Friday.


The judge, Chiara Nobili of Milan, signed the arrest warrants on Wednesday for 13 C.I.A. operatives who are suspected of seizing an imam named Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, as he walked to his mosque here for noon prayers on Feb. 17, 2003.

It is unclear what prompted the issuance of the warrants, but Judge Guido Salvini said in May that it was "certain" that Mr. Nasr had been seized by "people belonging to foreign intelligence networks interested in interrogating him and neutralizing him, to then hand him over to Egyptian authorities."

Mr. Nasr, who was under investigation before his disappearance for possible links to Al Qaeda, is still missing, and his family and friends say he was tortured repeatedly by Egyptian jailers. The detailed warrants remained sealed in a Milan courthouse on Friday. But copies obtained by The New York Times show that 13 American citizens, all identified in the documents as either C.I.A. employees or as having links to the agency, are wanted to stand trial on kidnapping charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years and 8 months in prison. The Americans' whereabouts are unknown.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/international/europe/25milan.html?

[punpirate]

18. Hmm... guess this means...

... Italy still believes in due process.

Glad someone does. *sigh*

[FourStarDemocrat]

19. I wonder now how the bush administration is going to handle this..

And in reading the full article, hotel costs for the 13 for this operation were over $144,000, plus the Boston Red Sox's owner's plane was leased and used for the 'rendition'...interesting how the CIA operates.

[punpirate]

20. The local operatives they hired...

... as snitches, lookouts, informants, etc., will be thrown to the wolves. The actual CIA agents will be reassigned somewhere else and will not be reassigned to Italy or a place where Italian authorities can get them--such as some places in Switzerland.

In the meantime, they'll have Bushie-bon-bon-boy put pressure on Berlusconi to put pressure on the judge to quash the indictment.

That's how they'll handle it.

[FourStarDemocrat]

22. Yeah...I think that's how it'll go too. This is a big embarrassment

for Bushco..The US is looking more and more like a thug nation tot he rest of the world.

[thebigidea]

25. he'll have a word with the PM, the agents will be released quietly

we'll never see another story about 'em.

[DemBones DemBones]

21. Italians learned their lesson about fascism.

Too bad Americans weren't paying close attention to the Italian experience.

[Jim Sagle]

24. Democratic Italy vs. fascist America. How sad.

:cry:

[libodem]

23. this has got to be the tip of the ice burg

the agents might have been snuffed already to keep them from exposing anything. Spy vs Spy Maybe wittness protection...like changing their identities i don't put any thing past the * government.

[ngGale]

26. Italy must be mad at us, at least it will look that way ...

they haven't forgotten the shooting of their Ambassador and wounding the lady, in Iraq. Last time we will whitewash one of their investigations. Being serious, once our allies found out we were taking their own citizens. They can all throw down the gauntlet. Maybe more countries will follow there lead.

[katinmn]

27. It's not nice to kidnap people from their home countries and haul

them off to be tortured.

Sheesh.

This story should live on for a while. Italy is far from being the only country where nationals have been kidnapped by Rummy's illegal band of secret operatives. This is what happens when there is no Congressional oversight. I hope Congress gets really pissed and takes away all Rumsfailed's toys and money.