Italy may try CIA agents in absentia for Milan abduction of imam News
Italy may try CIA agents in absentia for Milan abduction of imam

[JURIST] A senior Italian judicial source who asked not to be named has said that the 22 CIA agents accused of kidnapping Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr [Wikipedia profile] in Milan and transporting him out of the country in 2003 in an instance of extraordinary rendition may be tried in absentia in proceedings that could begin within a month. In November, the Milan prosecutor’s office filed an extradition request for the CIA agents [JURIST report] with the Italian government. In December the court issued European-wide arrest warrants [JURIST report].

The conservative Italian government, which has been critical of the prosecutorial effort, still has not responded to the extradition request, but in January it did seek judicial assistance from the US in the case, including permission for Italian prosecutors to travel to the US and gather evidence. The US has not yet responded. Frustrated by obstruction from Rome and Washington, the prosecutors may still insist on going to trial, basing their case on testimony from Mr. Hassan himself, obtained via an Italian telephone-tap, and cell-phone records of the accused CIA agents. Reuters has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.