Saturday, June 25, 2005

Milan, Italy - An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 people connected to the CIA for the illegal abduction of imam Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, who was taken against his will off a Milan street on Feb. 17, 2003 and thrown into an unmarked white van. He was then taken to Egypt by way of a U.S. air base in Aviano, Italy and another in Ramstein, Germany. In Egypt he was tortured by authorities who suspected he was involved in terrorist activities. Predictably, US authorities declined to comment on the matter, with a CIA spokesperson saying: "We're not even not commenting. We're saying: if we have anything to say, we'll get back to you."