Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr ( ar, حسن مصطفى أسامة نصر ''Ḥassan Muṣṭafā Usāmah Naṣr'') (born 18 March 1963), also known as Abu Omar, is an Egyptian cleric. In 2003, he was living in Milan, Italy, from where he was kidnapped and tortured in Egypt. This "'' Imam rapito affair''" prompted a series of investigations in Italy, culminating in the criminal convictions (in absentia) of 22 CIA operatives, a U.S. Air Force colonel, and two Italian accomplices, as well as Nasr, himself.Italy convicts abducted Egypt cleric Abu Omar
BBC News, 6 December 2013

Early life

He is a member of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an Islamic organisation that was formerly dedicated to the overthrow of the Egyptian government; the group has committed to peaceful means following the coup d'état that toppled Mohamed Morsi. The group has been linked to the murder of Anwar Sadat in 1981 and a terrorist campaign in the 1990s that culminated in the

November 1997 Luxor massacre The Luxor massacre was the killing of 62 people, mostly tourists, on 17 November 1997, at Deir el-Bahari, an archaeological site and major tourist attraction across the Nile from Luxor, Egypt. Attack Deir el-Bahari is one of Egypt's top touri ...

. As a result, it is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. After the Egyptians declared the group illegal, Nasr sought asylum in Italy. During the 1990s he fought in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Abduction by the CIA

On 17 February 2003, Nasr was abducted by CIA agents as he walked to his mosque in Milan for noon prayers, thus becoming an effective ghost detainee. He was later transported to a prison in Egypt where, he states, he was tortured.Wilkinson, T. and G. Miller. (2005).
"Italy Says It Didn't Know of CIA Plan"
. ''The Los Angeles Times'', July 1, 2005. In April 2004, while his incarceration had been downgraded to

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

, Nasr placed several phone calls from Egypt to his family and friends. He told them he had been rendered into the hands of Egypt's SSI at Tora Prison, twenty miles south of Cairo. He said he had been subjected to various depredations, tortured by beating and

electric shock Electrical injury is a physiological reaction caused by electric current passing through the body. The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact. Very small currents may be imperceptible or produce ...

s to the genitals, raped,ABU OMAR: "IN EGITTO FUI STUPRATO, BERLUSCONI LO SAPPIA"
'' La Repubblica'', and eventually had lost hearing in one ear.Grey, S. and D. Van Natta. (2005).
"In Italy, Anger at U.S. Tactics Colors Spy Case"
''The New York Times'', June 26, 2005. At the time of the calls he had been released on the orders of an Egyptian judge because of lack of evidence. Shortly after those calls were made he was re-arrested and placed back in prison. Nasr's case has been qualified by

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

senator Dick Marty as a "perfect example of extraordinary rendition", and in Italy prompted a series of investigations and intrigues within the Italian intelligence community and criminal justice system collectively referred to as the '' Imam Rapito'' (or "kidnapped Imam") affair in the Italian press. In February 2016, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Italy over this affair and ordered Italy to pay €115,000 (£90,000; $127,000) in damages and expenses to Nasr and his wife, Nabila Ghali.

Convictions of CIA agents and others

On 4 November 2009, an Italian judge convicted ''in absentia'' 22 CIA agents, a U.S. Air Force (USAF) colonel and two Italian secret agents of the kidnap.CIA agents guilty of Italy kidnap
''BBC'' Eight other American and Italian defendants were acquitted. Former Milan CIA station chief, Robert Seldon Lady, received an eight-year prison sentence. USAF Lieutenant Colonel

Joseph L. Romano Colonel Joseph L. Romano III is an officer in the United States Air Force and one of 26 American nationals charged by Italian authorities with the 2003 kidnapping of Italian resident cleric Hassan Nasr as part of an alleged covert CIA operation. ...

, at the time of the conviction commander of the 37th Training Group of the 37th Training Wing, and 21 of the American defendants received five-year prison sentences. Those convicted were also ordered to each pay 1 million Euros to Nasr and 500,000 Euros to Nasr's wife. In 2010, leaked diplomatic documents revealed the efforts the United States used in an attempt to stop Italy from indicting the CIA agents, and that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi assured US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that he was "working hard to resolve the situation" but that the Italy's judicial system was "dominated by leftists". In July 2013, Robert Seldon Lady was initially detained in Panama at the request of Italian authorities, but then released and allowed to board a flight to the United States. In January 2016, former C.I.A. agent Sabrina De Sousa, one of the agents convicted in Italy, was ordered by Portugal to be extradited to Italy, although that order will be appealed. She was briefly detained at the Lisbon airport in October 2015, and her passport was confiscated pending a court review of the European arrest warrant issued for her arrest. She has disclaimed any involvement in the affair and has been working to clear her name, including writing a memoir about her activities. Her appeal was denied on April 11, 2016. After being detained in Portugal in February 2017 and about to be deported to Italy, she was pardoned by the Italian president and released on 28 February 2017.

Release in February 2007

Abu Omar and his lawyer Montasser el-Zayat in Cairo

On 11 February 2007, Nasr's lawyer

Montasser el-Zayat Montasser el-Zayat () or Muntasir al-Zayyat ( ar, منتصر الزيات ') (born 1956) is an Egyptian lawyer and author whose former clients, according to press reports, included Ayman al-Zawahiri, since 2011 the leader of al-Qaeda, the terrori ...

confirmed that his client had been released and was now back with his family.Egypt releases 'rendition' cleric
BBC, 12 February 2007 After four years of detention, an Egyptian court ruled that his imprisonment was "unfounded."

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...

, February 16, 2007
Italy indicts 31 linked to CIA rendition case

Conviction in Italy

In December 2013, Nasr was convicted ''in absentia'' of terrorism by an Italian court for offenses before his abduction. Egypt had not responded to Italian requests to extradite or even interview Nasr for the trial. Nasr remains living in Egypt and is unlikely to be sent to Italy to serve out his sentence.

References

External links

A lot more information on Abu Omar and controversy in ItalyRendition Cindy Sheehan? CIA Fugitive From Italy Justice Is Located
'' Washington Post'', 6 December 2005

''Washington Post'', 6 December 2005
Ex-Aviano officer won't comment on alleged abduction
'' Stars and Stripes'', 10 December 2006
Italy indicts 31 linked to CIA rendition case
''

'', 15 February 2007
Amnesty International interview.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasr, Hassan Mustafa Osama People subject to extraordinary rendition by the United States Egyptian imams Egyptian Islamists Sunni Islamists History of Milan 1963 births Living people Egyptian Sunni Muslims Egyptian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Egypt Egyptian refugees Egyptian torture victims Egyptian expatriates in Italy Italian Sunni Muslims Kidnapped Egyptian people Missing person cases in Egypt eo:Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr