Italy denies approving kidnapping

Italy yesterday rejected allegations that it had authorised the 2003 kidnapping in Milan of a Muslim terrorism suspect, who prosecutors believe was whisked to Egypt and tortured.

Michael Scheuer, a former US Central Intelligence Agency analyst, was quoted in the Rome daily La Repubblica as saying the head of Italy's SISMI military secret service authorised the abduction of cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr.

Italian prosecutors believe Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was abducted on February 17, 2003 and flown to Egypt. They said evidence showed he was tortured by Egyptian authorities during questioning there.

The La Repubblica report said the alleged CIA operation was part of the US policy of transferring terror suspects to foreign countries for interrogation, a process Washington calls rendition.

"Neither the government, nor diplomatic corps, nor the director of the SISMI, nor the information and security apparatus ever received any sort of advisement from United States authorities," Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office said in a toughly-worded statement.

"There was no contact, no conversation, no sharing of information regarding the Milan episode, for which reason no authorisation was ever requested or given," it said, referring to the La Repubblica story.

The newspaper quoted Mr Scheuer, who helped set up the rendition programme during the administration of former President Bill Clinton, as saying in an interview that the head of SISMI knew about the abduction.

Asked where the authorisation came from, Mr Scheuer said: "From SISMI, from the head of SISMI." He added that SISMI's counterespionage unit also knew.

But Mr Berlusconi's office said: "Those affirmations, beyond being false, are also absolutely incompatible with the contents of the conversation between Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and US ambassador to Rome Mel Sembler."

A Milan judge last month issued arrest warrants for 13 people for the kidnapping of Nasr. Judicial sources said all 13 were linked to the CIA.