CIA operative faces extradition to Italy

Portugal’s Supreme Court has rejected a former CIA operative’s appeal against extradition to Italy to serve a six-year sentence for her part in the US extraordinary renditions programme, a court official said.

The official said Sabrina De Sousa’s only remaining recourse to avoid being sent to Italy would be to appeal to Portugal’s Constitutional Court, arguing her extradition order is unconstitutional.

De Sousa’s Portuguese lawyer, Manuel Magalhaes e Silva, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

De Sousa, who was working in Italy under diplomatic cover, faces prison for her role in the 2003 kidnapping in Milan of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, a terror suspect who was under surveillance by Italian law enforcement at the time.

De Sousa was among 26 Americans convicted in absentia in the case, which also implicated Italy’s secret services and has proven embarrassing to several Italian governments.

De Sousa has requested a pardon from Italy, according to her Italian lawyer. Italy has granted only one pardon in the case — for the lone military member among the defendants.