The Washinton Post is reporting that CIA operatives and a US Air Force colonel had been tried in absentia on kidnapping charges for their involvement in the 2003 abduction of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar.

Update 1:

Craig Whitlock at Washington Post reports:

Wednesday 04 November 2009

Milan - An Italian court on Wednesday convicted 22 CIA operatives and a U.S. Air Force colonel of orchestrating the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric in Milan in 2003 and flying him to Egypt, where he said he was later tortured.

"The judge in the case, Oscar Magi, said three other Americans, including the former Rome station chief for the CIA, were covered by diplomatic immunity....

"The Americans were all tried in absentia. A Milan prosecutor said his office would seek to have them extradited from the United States, but a formal decision will be made later by the Italian Justice Ministry....

"The case is the only instance in which CIA operatives have faced a criminal trial for the controversial tactic of extraordinary rendition, under which terrorism suspects are seized in one country and forcibly transported to another without judicial oversight. A similar case involving a German citizen kidnapped in the Balkans has resulted in arrest warrants and a civil lawsuit but has not gone to trial."

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Update 2:

The ACLU reports on Italian court convictions of 23 Americans for their role in "extraordinary rendition" of Muslim cleric:

US Should Pursue Accountability For Rendition Crimes, Says ACLU

Wednesday 04 November 2009

New York - An Italian court today convicted 23 Americans for the "extraordinary rendition" of a Muslim cleric who was kidnapped in Milan in 2003. The case is the first of its kind to hold Americans accountable for the rendition of terrorism suspects overseas. The American Civil Liberties Union calls on the U.S. to hold those involved in the illegal rendition and torture of detainees accountable for their actions.

"The decision in Italy underscores the need for the United States to hold its own officials accountable for crimes committed under the 'extraordinary rendition' program. It is shameful that the first convictions of this kind came from a foreign justice system, where those convicted are not likely to serve their time," said Steven Watt, staff attorney for the ACLU Human Rights Program. "The U.S. judicial system must provide similar measures of accountability to hold those who committed crimes in the names of the American people responsible for their actions and provide victims of torture with access to justice."

The three-year trial in Milan ended in the conviction of Americans – mostly CIA agents – in the kidnapping of Hassan Moustafa Osama Nasr, known as Abu Omar. Abu Omar was seized on the streets of Milan in 2003 and held in U.S. military bases in Italy and Germany, before being transferred to Egypt, where he claimed he was tortured. After four years in detention, he was released without charge.

The Americans were tried in absentia, and all but one was given a five-year sentence. Former Milan CIA station chief Robert Seldon Lady was sentenced to eight years in prison. Three other Americans were given diplomatic immunity and acquitted. Two Italians were convicted as accomplices to kidnapping.