Convictions upheld by court

Egyptian terror suspect was abducted in Italy.

ROME — Italy’s highest criminal court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of 23 Americans in the abduction of an Egyptian terror suspect from a Milan street as part of the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” program, paving the way to possible extradition requests by Italian authorities.

The ruling by the Court of Cassation marks the final appeal in the first trial anywhere in the world involving the CIA’s practice of abducting terror suspects and transferring them to third countries where torture is permitted.

The Americans were convicted in absentia following a three-and-a-halfyear trial, and have never been in Italian custody. They risk arrest if they travel to Europe, and one of their court-appointed lawyers suggested that the final verdict would open the way for the Italian government to seek their extradition.

“It went badly. It went very badly,” lawyer Alessia Sorgato said after the court announced its decision after a day of deliberations. “Now they will ask for extradition.”

Milan prosecutor Armando Spataro, one of Italy’s top anti-terrorism magistrates who shaped the prosecution, hailed the top court’s decision, saying it was tantamount to a finding that extraordinary rendition “is incompatible with democracy.”

The court will make public its reasoning behind the decision in a written document in about 90 days.

“We will see if the minister of justice intends to request extradition, since the final verdict poses this issue,” Spataro said.

The Americans and two Italians were convicted in November 2009 of involvement in the kidnapping of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, on Feb. 17, 2003 — the first convictions anywhere in the world against people involved in the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program. The cleric was transferred to U.S. military bases in Italy and Germany before being moved to Egypt, where he says he was tortured. He has since been released.