JURIST - Paper Chase: Italy prosecutors seek indictments in CIA abduction case

[JURIST] Italian prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to issue indictments for 26 US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] agents and five officials from the Italian Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISMI) [official website], including former SISMI chief Nicola Pollari, on kidnapping charges for allegedly orchestrating the extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive] of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr [Wikipedia profile; JURIST news archive]. Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, claims he was tortured after being grabbed off a street in Milan and ultimately sent to Egypt. A Milan judge now must decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial in the case. AP has more.

In October, prosecutors said they completed their investigation [JURIST report] into the incident and would once again press for the extradition of 26 American agents [JURIST report] believed to be involved in the case. If extradition is once again denied, Milan prosecutor Armando Spataro has said he would be forced to try the US agents in absentia [JURIST report]. This summer, several Italian intelligence agents were arrested [JURIST report], and last month the Italian cabinet removed Pollari [JURIST report] from his post, despite his denials of involvement [JURIST report] in the incident.

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