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23 CIA officials convicted in Italy
Published: 05 November, 2009, 02:59
Edited: 01 March, 2010, 06:26
TAGS: Crime, EU, Politics, Terrorism, Law, USA
An Italian court has convicted 23 Americans of abducting an Egyptian terror suspect under the CIA's so-called "extraordinary rendition" programme. Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen discusses the news with RT.
The man who was abducted was taken to Egypt, where he was allegedly tortured. Now, 23 Americans have been found guilty and given sentences of five to eight years to serve in prison.
The convicted men ranged from US diplomats to members of the military and included the former CIA station chief in Milan, Robert Seldon Lady, who received the longest sentence of eight years.
“This has been an ongoing case, so we will have to see if Interpol red notices go out and which countries will cooperate with authorities to take these people into custody,” Madsen explained.
Amnesty International has said that the US should not need a foreign court to distinguish what is right from what is wrong.
Many people are now wondering whether this case will set a precedent for the Obama administration to investigate and prosecute other members of the “extraordinary renditions” programme.
However, Madsen thinks that Obama’s actions will not be unexpected.
“If what we see so far from the Obama administration plays out, Obama will defend the CIA as he has done in the past,” he said.
“I think we will not see any cooperation between the Obama administration and the Department of Justice and the Italian authorities,” he added.
05.11.2009, 01:34
2 comments
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3 comments
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It is one thing to hold a kangaroo court and convict 23 CIA workers but then these people kidnapped a guy minding his own business on Italian territory and sent him to Egypt to be tortured. They did not know and they (and their backers) did not care that this guy, Muslim cleric though he was, might have been innocent of everything he was supposed to have done. No country should allow foreigners to come in and kidnap people on its soil and take them away for torture. Italy is right to convict these people. But the United States government should have prosecuted them in the first place for using unethical means and methods to find terror suspects.
December 26, 2009, 00:39, Italy wrote > It is one thing to hold a kangaroo court and convict these guys, but quite another to ever impose a sentence on them. The last time I checked, Italy doesn't have the power to dictate anything upon the United States. Italy is attacking Uncle Sam when they start messing with America's intelligence community. Italy needs to think long and hard and decide which side they are on. They cannot be with America if they are against America's brave men. Can you believe the arrogance and perversity of the author of the above quote? It is obvious that the person spoke completely out of turn, not taking into account that the American felons committed a very serious crime in an Italian city, in the country of Italy, ever heard of it? That's where the Italians call the shots not America, not the American government and not a bunch of American CIA killers and kidnappers.
Well, of course by this time no one takes Italian court judgments seriously. (Amanda Knox.)