A Milan prosecutor sought arrest warrants on Wednesday for six more purported CIA operatives, accusing them of helping plan the kidnapping of an Egyptian radical Muslim cleric in 2003.
An Italian court issued warrants for 13 purported CIA officials last month, but turned down a request by prosecutor Armando Spataro to issue warrants for six Americans accused of helping prepare the abduction of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr.
Spataro said he expected the three-judge panel to rule on the request in the next few days.
The request said tracking of their cellphones showed they made nearly 100 inspections of the area in Milan where the cleric was seized, that they studied his habits as well as the best routes to the highway the kidnappers would use to bring the Egyptian to Aviano, a joint US-Italian air base north of Venice.
"There were no doubts," the prosecutor said in his appeal, that the six were part "of a single group of Americans who came to Milan to carry out the operation."
Nasr, known as Abu Omar, was allegedly snatched on a Milan street on Feb. 17, 2003, flown from Aviano to Ramstein air base in Germany and then to Egypt, where he reportedly was tortured. The operation purportedly was part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program, in which terror suspects are transferred to third countries without court approval, subjecting them to possible ill treatment.
A court-appointed lawyer for the six, Guido Meroni, said there was no proof of his clients' direct participation in the alleged kidnapping.
The CIA has declined any comment on the case, which has strained relations between the two allied nations. Premier Silvio Berlusconi has a close relationship with US President George W. Bush, but ties between Rome and Washington were previously jolted by the shooting death of an Italian agent by US troops in Baghdad, Iraq, in March. Italy's magistrates are fiercely independent of the government. After initial outrage in Italy, Berlusconi summoned the US ambassador and told him he expects Washington to "fully respect Italian sovereignty."
The government also denied in parliament that any Italians were involved, dismissing a Washington Post report quoting unidentified CIA veterans claiming the CIA station chief in Rome had briefed an Italian official before the operation.
In its appeal, the prosecution repeated its contention that the abduction was a grave violation of Italian sovereignty and that it damaged an Italian anti-terrorism operation. Nasr was believed to have fought in Afghanistan and Bosnia and prosecutors were seeking evidence against him before his disappearance, according to Italian news reports last year, which cited intelligence officials.
None of the suspects is believed to be in Italy. After the initial arrest warrants, prosecutors said they would seek extradition. While the Italian government has appeared to try to contain any damage, some media have started focusing on the large US military presence in Italy, whose key navy, air force and army installations have been generally taken for granted over the years.
Germano Dottori, a political analyst at the Center for Strategic Studies in Rome, said the Milan case could damage cooperation between the secret services of the two countries.
"Among US intelligence officers you might see a reduced trust in their Italian counterparts," he said.
"Cooperation between secret services requires trust, often on a person-to-person basis. If one is afraid that in the future his identity will be revealed, he'll think twice before cooperating with someone," he said, adding that he hoped the incident would be put aside quickly, as the current threats of terror attacks in Europe and Italy "require maximum vigilance and cooperation."
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