Berlusconi testimony sought in defense of Italy ex-spy chief in CIA rendition case News
Berlusconi testimony sought in defense of Italy ex-spy chief in CIA rendition case

[JURIST] Lawyers for former Italian Intelligence and Security Service (SISMI) [official website] chief Nicolo Pollari said Wednesday that they have included Italian Prime Minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile] as a requested witness to testify in support of Pollari's assertion that he was not involved in a reported 2003 CIA kidnapping [JURIST news archive; WP timeline] case. Pollari was charged [JURIST report] in 2006 in connection with the kidnapping and rendition of Egyptian cleric Moustafa Hassan Nasr. Defense lawyers hope Berlusconi and other Italian officials will testify [Reuters report] that classified government documents prove that Pollari was not involved in the kidnapping. Judgment on whether to allow the testimony is scheduled for May 14. AP has more.

The Italian cabinet relieved Pollari of his duties [JURIST report] as SISMI head in November 2006. Pollari has denied allegations [JURIST report] that he assisted the CIA with the extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive] of Nasr. Pollari, another SISMI official and 26 Americans, mostly CIA agents, are being tried for their role in Nasr's alleged kidnapping. Proceedings against the Americans are being conducted in absentia as the US is not expected to hand them over.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.