Italians hunt covert CIA snatch squadBy Barbara McMahon in Rome
Sunday June 26, 2005
The Observer
SourceItaly and the United States were embroiled in a growing diplomatic row today over the CIA's alleged kidnapping of a terror suspect, as other countries also began investigations into America's role in the disappearance of their citizens.
Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, known as Abu Omar, was seized two years ago on the streets of Milan. Italian investigators claim he was bundled into the back of a van, driven to a US airbase in the north of Italy and secretly flown to Egypt, where he was interrogated and tortured.
The abduction is alleged to be part of America's 'rendition programme', in which terrorist suspects are forcibly removed to their home countries or to a third nation, where they can be interrogated without legal protection.
Earlier last week, an Italian judge issued arrest warrants for 13 people said to be CIA operatives involved in Omar's abduction. Another six people - all Americans - are also under investigation. It is the first time a foreign government has filed criminal charges against US citizens involved in counter-terrorism work abroad.
Other nations have also begun to oppose Washington's forcible removal of terror suspects. Canada is holding hearings into the deportation of a Canadian to Syria for questioning about alleged ties to al-Qaeda. German prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into the suspected kidnapping of a German man who was flown to Afghanistan. In Stockholm, a parliamentary investigator has already concluded that CIA agents violated Swedish law by subjecting two Egyptian nationals to 'degrading and inhuman treatment' during a rendition in 2001.
In Italy, news of the arrest warrants has caused outrage and the issue is expected to be discussed in parliament this week. Paolo Cento, vice-president of the justice committee in the Chamber of Deputies, called on the Interior and Defence Ministers to say whether Italian authorities had been alerted by the Americans prior to the rendition of Omar. 'We want to know if American agents have freedom of action on our territory and how, if that is the case, the government intends to protect the prerogative of our sovereignty,' Cento said.
Italians are also angry that the abduction of Omar, who had claimed political refugee status in Italy, disrupted their own investigation into his activities. They believe he was trained in Afghanistan and Bosnia and was connected to a suspected terrorist network in Europe.
'Our belief is that terrorist suspects should be investigated through legal channels and brought to a court of law - not kidnapped and spirited away to be tortured in some secret prison,' a senior Italian official said.
The current whereabouts of Omar are not known. He was released for a short time after imprisonment in Egypt but may now be back in custody.
The 13 people alleged to be working for the CIA were traced by Italian investigators after they left behind a trail of evidence including hotel bills, telephone records and car hire receipts.
Since the 11 September attacks more than 100 terrorism suspects are believed to have been transferred by the US to Pakistan, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Uzbekistan and other countries.