The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Germany Seeks 13 Over CIA 'Kidnap'
By CNN Berlin Bureau Chief Frederik Pleitgen
CNN.com
© January 31, 2007
Arrest warrants have been issued for 13
suspected CIA agents in connection with
the alleged kidnapping of a German citizen
of Lebanese descent in Afghanistan.
The arrest warrants list charges of kidnapping
and severe battery, the Munich state prosecutor's
office said Wednesday.
All the names on the warrants are aliases,
but the office told CNN they are believed
to be CIA operatives.
Khaled El-Masri said he was kidnapped in
late 2003 while on holiday in Macedonia.
In an interview with German weekly Die Zeit,
he said after having been interrogated in
Macedonia for several days, he was flown to
Afghanistan where he was held in a secret
prison for several months and severely beaten
in interrogation sessions.
El-Masri contends he was dumped five months
later along the side of a road in Albania
without explanation from those who held him.
The 13 suspects are believed to be the crew
of the plane that flew El-Masri to Afghanistan,
including the two pilots, the Munich state
prosecutor told CNN.
German authorities obtained information from
the Spanish police and the state prosecutor
in Milan, Italy -- which eventually led to
the arrest warrants being filed.
The chances of the suspects actually standing
trial in Germany are slim as German arrest warrants
are not binding in the United States.
If, however, any of the suspects should enter
a European country, they would be arrested
immediately, the Munich state prosecutor's
office said.
In his interview with Die Zeit, El-Masri said
he tried to travel to the United States to file
a lawsuit there but was not allowed to enter
the country.
The case has also led to a German parliamentary
investigation into when the government under
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was
informed about the kidnapping.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
other U.S. officials have declined to comment
on the case.
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
has said the United States has acknowledged
making a mistake with El-Masri, The Associated
Press reported.
In a separate case, Italian authorities are
seeking the arrest of 26 Americans, all but
one believed to be CIA agents, over the 2003
kidnapping in Milan of Egyptian cleric and
terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press
contributed to this report.
The Scum at the Top - Home
E-mail: dwagner2@isd.net
©2007 DJW
Last Modified:
February 3, 2007