Italy issues warrant for CIA team

A Milan court has issued a European arrest warrant for 22 CIA agents suspected of kidnapping an Egyptian cleric from Italy’s financial capital in 2003, Prosecutor Armando Spataro said on Friday. The case is one of several investigations into whether US intelligence agents used Europe to illegally transfer militant suspects to third countries for interrogation.

Milan magistrates suspect a CIA team grabbed Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr off a Milan street and flew him for interrogation to Egypt, where he said he was tortured. Prosecutors asked the Italian Justice Ministry last month to seek the extradition of the suspects from the US, but Justice Minister Roberto Castelli has not yet decided on the request.

A EU warrant is automatically valid across the 25-nation bloc and does not require the approval of any government. REUTERS