Italian judge suspends CIA trial [View All]

Source: AP

MILAN, Italy - An Italian judge on Monday suspended the first trial involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition program until the country's highest court can rule on the case.

The Italian government has asked the Constitutional Court to throw out the indictments against the 26 American defendants, all but one identified by prosecutors as CIA agents. They are accused of kidnapping an Egyptian terror suspect from a Milan street on Feb. 17, 2003.

In an argument that would effectively scuttle the case, state lawyers have said that the judge who issued the indictments unlawfully relied on state secrets to justify the charges.

The 26 Americans have left Italy, and a senior U.S. official has said they would not be turned over for prosecution even if Rome requests it. The government has not yet responded to prosecutors' requests to seek their extradition.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070618/ap_on_re_eu/italy_cia_kidnapping;_ylt=AghphwL1zAU7fMGK60ylKjlw24cA