The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Ex-spy Boss Denies CIA Kidnap Role
The Associated Press
© January 29, 2007
A former Italian intelligence chief, facing
possible indictment over the alleged
kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in the
CIA's extraordinary rendition program,
told a closed hearing Monday that he never
participated in illegal activity.
Nicolo Pollari said that he was unable to
defend himself properly because documents
that would clarify his position had been
excluded from the proceedings, as they
contained state secrets, his lawyers said.
Pollari is one of five Italian intelligence
officials facing possible indictment in the
alleged abduction of cleric and terror suspect
Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr from a Milan street
on Feb. 17, 2003.
Prosecutors say Pollari and other officials
of the military intelligence agency SISMI
worked with the Americans to abduct the cleric.
Twenty-six Americans also could be indicted
in what would be the first criminal prosecution
involving the alleged CIA program to secretly
transfer terror suspects to third countries
where critics say they may face torture.
Pollari volunteered to appear in the Milan
court, and was the first of the suspects to
attend the closed-door preliminary hearing,
which started Jan. 9 and continues into February.
There are about 80 documents that would show
that Pollari did not participate in any illegal
activity, his lawyer Franco Coppi said. Those
documents contain sensitive information and
cannot be used in court, Coppi said.
Pollari's lawyers said their client was not
in a position to defend himself unless he
revealed information that might compromise
national security. They want the proceedings
suspended and the Constitutional Court to
address the question of whether his lawyers
can use the classified documents to defend
Pollari.
Pollari's defense also requested testimony
from Premier Romano Prodi, former Premier
Silvio Berlusconi and other top officials,
saying it would help clear Pollari.
The prosecution has identified all but one of
the American suspects as CIA agents, including
former station chiefs in Rome and Milan; the
other is a U.S. Air Force officer stationed at
the time at Aviano air base, near Venice.
Two of Pollari's top aides, Gustavo Pignero
and Marco Mancini, were arrested last year,
and other SISMI officials were placed under
investigation. Pignero has since died of
cancer, while Mancini is said by his lawyers
to be cooperating with prosecutors in
implicating his boss.
Pollari has insisted in questioning before
parliamentary committees that Italian
intelligence had no role in Nasr's disappearance.
In a major sweep of Italian intelligence
last year, Pollari was replaced as the head
of SISMI, and the chiefs of the civilian
secret service agencies were also removed.
Last week, Pollari was named as a government
consultant during a Cabinet meeting.
Prosecutors say the alleged kidnapping
operation was a breach of Italian sovereignty
that compromised their own anti-terrorism
efforts.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved.This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten,
or redistributed.
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Last Modified:
February 3, 2007