Word: italian
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...frontrunner for the position - mainly because the post is expected to go to a candidate from the center-left and Miliband is talented, articulate and well liked in European circles. However, he's not a shoo-in for the job - other contenders are said to include former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema, former French Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt...
Twenty-two CIA agents who were convicted by a Milan court on Wednesday of kidnapping an Egyptian cleric are unlikely to spend any time in prison. The verdict, announced by Milan judge Oscar Magi, is only the first step in the labyrnthine Italian legal system, and the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has shown no desire to pursue the case...
According to the Associated Press, Magi convicted 23 Americans, one of whom is an Air Force officer, for the February 2003 kidnapping of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, under the CIA's controversial "extraordinary rendition" program. Three other Americans were acquitted because they have diplomatic immunity. Two Italian secret agents were also convicted. Five other Italians were acquitted, including the head of the country's military intelligence, who resigned when the kidnapping became public. (See a pictorial history...
Prosecutors also alleged that the Italian authorities cooperated with the CIA. But the Italian government denies any involvement in the rendition program. Nevertheless, Nasr had been under scrutiny by Italian investigators, who suspected him of recruiting for the insurgency in Iraq. (See Silvio Berlusconi's worst gaffes...
...says it will not publicly react to the verdict. "The CIA has not commented on any of the allegations surrounding Abu Omar," says spokesman George Little. But lawyers familiar with the Italian legal system say the 23 Americans need not fear incarceration. Magi's verdict "is worthless; it's only a judgment on paper," says New York criminal defense attorney Joseph DiBenedetto, who has defended clients who were indicted in Italy. "There's a lengthy appellate process, and between the legal and the political wrangling, [the verdict] will probably be whittled down and maybe even tossed...