Posted on 03/03/2005 10:37:24 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
ROME (AP) - An Italian prosecutor is investigating whether U.S. agents played a role in the alleged abduction from Milan of a suspected Islamic militant, according to news reports.
The 41-year-old imam, identified as Abu Omar, disappeared in the northern Italian city in February 2003. Milan Prosecutor Armando Spataro is looking at whether he was seized in a CIA operation and flown to Egypt for interrogation, the Corriere della Sera and other newspapers have reported.
Last week, the prosecutor visited a joint U.S.-Italian air base in Aviano to find documents on air and vehicle traffic that might shed light on the disappearance, Corriere said.
Asked about the case, Spataro confirmed he had visited Aviano on Feb. 23 "with the full cooperation" of the base commander but denied launching a search there. He declined to discuss the reported investigation.
"As you can imagine, it is delicate," Spataro said by telephone.
An official at the U.S. Embassy in Rome also confirmed Spataro's visit to the base in northern Italy. The official, who asked not to be cited by name, said the embassy would "respond appropriately" to requests for information from Italian authorities.
Both Corriere and La Repubblica newspapers have reported that CIA agents were suspected of a role in the capture of Egyptian-born Omar,
The newspapers said Omar was released in spring 2004 but his whereabouts were now unclear.
Citing alleged wiretapped conversations, the newspaper reported that Omar called his wife in Milan after his release and recounted that he had been seized by Italian and American agents and taken to a secret prison in Egypt, where he was tortured with electric shocks.
The Italian reports, which first appeared in newspapers last week, raised concerns among Italy's leftist opposition. Senator Tana de Zulueta denounced U.S. tactics and asked whether Italy was involved in Omar's alleged kidnapping.
"I have submitted a question to the Italian government to know whether Italy was implicated in this episode of torture 'outsourcing,'" the opposition senator said in a statement.
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I've been wondering where our Delta Force and SEALS were...
Semper Fi
An Italian prosecutor is investigating whether U.S. agents played a role in the alleged abduction from Milan of a suspected Islamic militant, according to news reports.
The loooooooonnnnnnnngggggggg arm of American justice. Either help us or get out of the way.
I sure hope so or if he's a real biggie send him to Diego Garcia to be "debriefed"
He's an imam like Jesse Jackson is a reverend.
Plane spotting ping
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