For those of you who may have forgotten or otherwise are unaware of the back story. Here's a recap:
The "Imam Rapito Affair" as it became known in Italy, began on the 17th of Febuary, 2003 when this man:
image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Hassan_Mustafa_Osama_Nasr_CIA.jpg
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (also known as Abu Omar) was abducted by persons affiliated with the CIA as he walked to his mosque in Milan, Italy, for
noon prayers.
He was nabbed, thrown into a van, driven to the joint US-Italian airbase at Aviano and the later flown to a secret, CIA-run "Black Site" in Cairo,
Egypt; where he was detained for around 4 years and subjected to various torture methods.
It's almost like something out of the Bourne trilogy.
He was beaten, electrocuted (even on his genitals), sexually assaulted and eventually lost hearing in one ear.
After four years of detention, an Egyptian court ruled that his imprisonment was
"unfounded." He was flown back to Italy, no charges were
made and this man has since not received any compensation or explanation as to why he was captured and tortured, by who and for what reason.
Essentially, if the CIA had anything on this man, you can be certain they would have prosecuted him in a Military Tribunal. Instead, he was let go,
without so much as a 'sorry'.
This case has become the epitome of the CIA's
"Extraordinary Rendition" programme in the "War on Terror". Extraditing suspected terrorists
captured on the battlefield, to nations around the world that essentially don't uphold any conventions, treaties or moral standards; torturing them
for years and then in most cases, releasing them WITHOUT charge.
Well this case is different. This time the CIA's mistakes come back to bite them in their authoritative asses. 26 Americans and 5 Italians, all
proven to be CIA agents, have been indicted in a trial set for June 8th. Their charges range from kidnapping, assault, malicious wounding, torture and
attempted murder.
Read the links below for more information.
Hopefully this sets a good precedent and casts a spotlight on the Agency's unfounded and illegal operations around the world.
And most importantly, it reveals the dangers of freely allowing 'cruel and unusual' interrogations methods to be applied to suspects.
It breeds
contempt for the US and sows the seeds for more vengeance.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Abu Omar, or any illegally detained & tortured man did actually join an Islamic Fundamentalist group after
being released, nor would I blame them.
You don't fight fire with fire. You don't triumph over you enemies by becoming as they are and disregarding your morals and principles.
You fight not only to save your life, you fight to save your principles. For the US to condone torture on any level, is to say that America's
forefathers were essentially wrong when they scarified their lives to found a free and unsuppressed nation.
For specific info regarding the actual kidnapping operation, extradition and detention read this very extensive compilation:
www.expose-the-war-profiteers.org...
www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)
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