The cleric, also known as Abu Omar, was abducted and secretly
flown to Egypt for interrogation under the U.S. "extraordinary
rendition" program in 2003.
Nasr's abduction led to the first trial of its kind against the
"renditions" practiced by the administration of former U.S.
president George W. Bush, which have been condemned by human rights
groups as a violation of international agreements.
Under the program, the American CIA is alleged to have abducted
terrorism suspects and flown them to countries where they could be
tortured, a practice banned under international law.
Several ex-CIA agents involved in the kidnapping were tried in Italy
in absentia and sentenced to between seven and nine years in jail.
Italy was the first country to convict American nationals for their
involvement in a rendition.
[to top of second column] |
Nasr now lives in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, his lawyer
Carmelo Scambia said. Nasr denied the charges, which included
recruiting combatants for Iraq.
(Reporting by Sara Rossi, writing by Agnieszka Flak;
editing by
Kevin Liffey)
|