Guardian UKROME (AP) - An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 CIA agents for allegedly helping deport an imam to Egypt as part of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts, an Italian official familiar with the investigation said Friday.
The agents are suspected in the seizure of an Egyptian-born imam identified as Abu Omar on the streets of Milan in February 2003, according to the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
The U.S. Embassy in Rome declined to comment.
Prosecutors believe the agents seized Omar as part of the CIA's ``extraordinary rendition'' program, in which terror suspects are transferred to third countries without court approval, according to reports Friday in newspapers Corriere della Sera and Il Giorno.
Call me unamerican if you have to, but I think that'd be a dead wrong interpretation. This is great news because this is exactly the type of behaviour that give the US a black eye. Good for the Italians.
Let's see how long it takes Berlosconi to quash the case though.