Former CIA Officer Could Be Extradited to Italy Over Cleric Kidnapping

A former CIA officer faces extradition to Italy over the abduction of an Egyptian cleric in Milan.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A former officer of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) faces extradition to Italy over the abduction of an Egyptian cleric in Milan, The Washington Post reports.

"I’ve spent years wanting to counter the charges against me. Right now, I want to know what happens, step by step, in Italy," Sabrina De Sousa told the newspaper on Thursday.

De Sousa, a dual Portuguese and American citizen, was among 26 Americans convicted in absentia in Italy for her involvement in the kidnapping of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (Abu Omar) in February 2003 in Milan. She resigned from the CIA in 2009 and moved to Portugal last spring.

The former CIA officer was detained at the Lisbon airport on a European arrest warrant in the fall of 2015. This week, Portugal’s highest court declared that De Sousa must be sent to Italy as soon as May 4, The Washington Post said.

According to the newspaper, De Sousa claims that she played no role in the actual kidnapping of Abu Omar and only provided interpreting services during discussions about a year prior to the abduction.

Abu Omar was flown to Egypt after he was kidnapped, was beaten and subjected to electric shock and was eventually released, according to The Washington Post.