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December 16, 2010

Italy Ups Sentences of CIA Agents in 2003 Kidnapping
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An Italian court has increased the sentences of 23 CIA operatives
convicted of kidnapping a Muslim cleric under the U.S. program of
"extraordinary rendition." The cleric, Abu Omar, was seized from the
streets of Milan in 2003 and taken to U.S. bases in Italy and Germany
before being sent to Egypt, where he was tortured during a four-year
imprisonment. The Americans were all convicted in absentia last year
after the United States refused to hand them over. On Wednesday, their
sentences were upped to seven to nine years in prison from five to eight
years. The operatives were also ordered to pay Abu Omar $2 million in
damages.



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