Italy judge orders CIA rendition trial to resume News
Italy judge orders CIA rendition trial to resume

[JURIST] Italian Judge Oscar Magi on Wednesday ordered the continuation of the trial of 26 Americans [JURIST news archive] and several former Italian intelligence officials for the 2003 abduction and rendition [JURIST news archive] of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr [JURIST news archive]. Magi suspended [JURIST report] the trial in October pending a ruling from the Constitutional Court of Italy [official website] on a petition [JURIST report] filed by the Italian government to dismiss all charges against the defendants. Magi resumed the trial after months of inaction from the high court, saying that the continuation of the trial will not harm the defense in any way.

Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was seized on the streets of Milan by CIA agents with the help of Italy's Military Intelligence and Security Service. He was then allegedly transferred to Egypt and turned over to Egypt's State Security Intelligence, where he said he was tortured before being released [JURIST reports] in February 2007. The 26 Americans, most of whom are CIA agents, are being tried in absentia. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Supreme Court ruled Indians not US citizens

On November 3, 1884, the US Supreme Court ruled in Elk v. Wilkins that John Elk, an American Indian who had tried to vote in a federal election in Omaha, Nebraska, was not a US citizen entitled to the protection of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution. Native Americans became eligible for citizenship in 1887 under the Dawes Act, but only in 1924, under the Indian Citizenship Act, were all Native Americans born in the US made citizens.

Last public execution at Tyburn Gallows in London

On November 3, 1783, the last public execution took place at Tyburn Gallows in London, when John Austin was hanged for highway robbery. From the hanging of William Fitz Osburn in 1196 until Austin's execution, Tyburn served as London's primary location for public executions.

Learn more about the trial of John Austin.