Italian judges hold preliminary hearing on CIA abduction

Jan 29, 2007, 10:50 GMT

Milan - Judges in Milan held a second preliminary hearing Monday to decide whether to indict United States and Italian spies for the abduction of an Egyptian terror suspect.

A total of 35 people, including 26 CIA agents and top officials from Italy's military intelligence agency SISMI, risk going on trial over their involvement in a so-called 'extraordinary rendition' operation as part of President George W. Bush's global war on terrorism.

Should judges decide to indict the defendants, it would be the first time that the controversial practice was to be made accountable to the law.

The case dates back to February 2003, when an Egyptian imam disappeared from the streets of Milan and was secretly flown to Egypt.

Prosecutor Armando Spataro argues that US agents abducted the Muslim cleric with the help of their Italian colleagues. The Italian government of the time, led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has publicly denied any knowledge of the operation.

Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, who is known in Italy as Abu Omar, has claimed he was tortured and beaten during questioning in an Egyptian cell.

Present in court Monday was the former head of SISMI, Nicolo Pollari. Pollari was expected to argue that he would not be able to defend himself from the charges unless he revealed sensitive state secrets.

None of his CIA colleagues are believed to be in Italy. And with previous prosecutors' requests for their extradition having failed, legal experts argue that they are unlikely to be turned over to Italy for trial.

Last week, the European Union parliament approved a report slamming EU members like Italy for tolerating or assisting the United States' practice of secret detentions of terrorist suspects.

The text criticized EU states over their failure to fulfil 'European obligations, such as the respect of human rights.'

More than 1,245 CIA-operated flights flew over European airspace or stopped over at airports in Europe, Euro MPs concluded, urging member states to investigate these so-called rendition flights.