WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- More than 20 U.S. citizens and alleged CIA agents are to be tried in Italy on kidnap charges.
"An Italian court (Friday) ordered 26 U.S. citizens, most of whom have been identified as CIA agents, and five Italian agents to stand trial for the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Milan," the U.S. civil liberties group Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
"The CIA allegedly seized Osama Mustafa Hassan, also known as Abu Omar, as a terrorism suspect and flew him to Egypt, where he claims he was tortured. This case could lead to the first-ever criminal trial related to CIA 'extraordinary renditions' in Europe," the New York-based human rights advocacy group said.
Human Rights Watch also noted the case of Khalid El-Masri, "a German national allegedly rendered by the CIA from Macedonia to Afghanistan in 2004.
"In addition, Human Rights Watch has documented other cases in which European governments were involved in illegal CIA activities," the group said.
