CIA Kidnap Trial to Resume in April

An Italian judge says the trial of 26 U.S. agents and seven Italians accused of kidnapping a terrorism suspect will resume next month, after the Constitutional Court clarifies key rulings in the case.

Wednesday’s hearing in Milan was postponed to April 22.

The defense claimed victory last week after the Constitutional Court ruled that state secrets had been violated in the case against the Americans. The court is expected to rule by April 22 on whether prosecutors can use any state evidence said to violate secrecy provisions.

The defendants, including the former head of Italy’s military intelligence agency Nicolo Pollari, are accused of kidnapping an Egyptian imam from Milan and flying him to Egypt. The cleric, Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, says he was imprisoned, interrogated and tortured outside Cairo.

The Americans are being tried in absentia. The Italian government has not asked for their extradition, and the CIA has refused to comment on the case.

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