Italy's highest court has upheld the convictions in absentia of 23 CIA agents convicted in connection with the 2003 abduction and extralegal extradition of an Egyptian terror suspect in Milan.
The ruling on September 19 marks the end of the first-ever trial in connection with the CIA practice of abducting terror suspects and transferring them to countries where torture is practiced.
The Americans were convicted in absentia in 2009 following a trial that lasted more than three years.
The Italian high court's ruling could open the way for Rome to file an extradition request with the United States.
The suspect, Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr (aka Abu Omar), was abducted in February 2003.
He was sent to U.S. military bases in Italy and Germany before ultimately being sent to Egypt.
There he was reportedly tortured and later released.
The ruling on September 19 marks the end of the first-ever trial in connection with the CIA practice of abducting terror suspects and transferring them to countries where torture is practiced.
The Americans were convicted in absentia in 2009 following a trial that lasted more than three years.
The Italian high court's ruling could open the way for Rome to file an extradition request with the United States.
The suspect, Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr (aka Abu Omar), was abducted in February 2003.
He was sent to U.S. military bases in Italy and Germany before ultimately being sent to Egypt.
There he was reportedly tortured and later released.
