ROME: A prosecutor leading the investigation of the alleged CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Milan testified Wednesday before parliament s secret services committee.
The proceeding was closed to the public, but Armando Spataro s statements apparently contradicted last month s testimony by the head of Italy s military intelligence, committee members indicated.
Nicolo Pollari, head of SISMI military intelligence, has denied authorizing the 2003 alleged CIA kidnapping of Egyptian cleric and terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar. But Italian reports have alleged he was involved, and a recording of a conversation between two Italian secret agents arrested in the case appeared to implicate him.
We are bound by secret, but certainly in this phase there are contradictions between people s statements, Claudio Scajola, the committee s president, told reporters at the end of Spataro s testimony.
Nasr was allegedly abducted from a Milan street in February 2003. Prosecutors say the operation was conducted by CIA agents, and called it a breach of Italian sovereignty.They say Nasr was flown via the Aviano joint Italian-U.S. air base and Germany to Egypt, where he says he was tortured.
Italian prosecutors are seeking the arrest of 26 Americans, all but one believed to be CIA agents. AP
