Warrants issued for CIA agents

AN ITALIAN judge has issued European arrest warrants for 22 purported CIA operatives in connection with the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street in 2003.

Prosecutor Armando Spataro said the warrants allowed for the arrest of the suspects in any of the 25 EU countries. Previously, Italy had issued arrest warrants for the 22 inside Italy.

Daria Pesce, a lawyer for one of the 22, played down the significance of the warrants but acknowledged they meant the suspects could not travel to Europe without risking arrest.

Mr Spataro has already sought the extradition of the 22 from the US, but this has remained with Justice Minister Roberto Castelli.

Earlier this week, Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a top US ally, suggested the government may not push the prosecutors’ request with Washington saying: “I don’t think there is any basis in the case.”

Mr Castelli has questioned Mr Spataro’s motives in pursuing the arrests, suggesting he was a leftist militant and anti-American.

The 22 people allegedly were involved in the kidnapping of cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr.

The cleric, believed to belong to an Islamic terror group, was allegedly abducted in Milan on February 17, 2003, before being flown to Egypt, where he was reportedly tortured.

One of the suspects is Robert Seldon Lady, a former CIA station chief in Milan who has since returned to the US.

Mr Lady’s attorney, Ms Pesce, said even if Mr Castelli forwarded the extradition request, the US would “never” allow the suspects to be extradited.

Prosecutors say the cleric’s abduction was a serious violation of Italian sovereignty, and it had hindered Italian terrorism investigations.

Earlier this month, Mr Berlusconi said Italy had no evidence of illegal CIA activity on its territory, without referring to the probe into Mr Nasr’s alleged kidnapping.