Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr

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Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (Arabic: حسن مصطفى أسامة نصر‎) (born c. 1963), also known as Abu Omar, is an Egyptian cleric who was living in asylum in Italy after the Islamic organization to which he belonged, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, (led by "the blind sheikh" Omar Abdel-Rahman, dedicated to the overthrow of the Egyptian government, and considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union), was declared illegal by the Egyptian government.

Contents 1 Alleged to have been an informant 2 Abduction by the CIA 3 Release in February 2007 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Alleged to have been an informant

While in Albania in the mid-1990s, Nasr is reported to have served as an informant for the Albanian national intelligence service, SHiK and, indirectly, the CIA.^[1]

[edit] Abduction by the CIA

Main article: Imam Rapito

On February 17, 2003 Nasr was abducted by persons allegedly affiliated with the CIA 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 claims that he was tortured. Nasr's case has been qualified by Swiss senator Dick Marty as a "perfect example of extraordinary rendition".

The abduction has set off a series of investigations and intrigues within the Italian intelligence community and criminal justice system; in the Italian press these are collectively referred to as the Imam Rapito (or "kidnapped Imam") affair.

[edit] Release in February 2007

On February 11, 2007, Mr Nasr's lawyer Montasser al-Zayat confirmed that his client had been released and was now back with his family.^[2] He still could face arrest as a suspected terrorist and associate of terrorists if he returns to Italy. However, Nasr's lawyer has said that Nasr intends to return to Italy to testify at the trial of the men and women charged with his abduction.^[3]

[edit] See also

• Extraordinary rendition
• Human rights in Egypt
• Montasser el-Zayat
• Imam Rapito

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Italy orders CIA kidnapping trial, BBC News, February 16, 2007
• Rendition Cindy Sheehan? CIA Fugitive From Italy Justice Is Located
• CIA Ruse Is Said to Have Damaged Probe in Milan: Italy Allegedly Misled on Cleric's Abduction, Washington Post, December 6, 2005
• A Cleric's Journey, Washington Post, December 6, 2005
• Ex-Aviano officer won't comment on alleged abduction, Stars and Stripes, December 10, 2006
• Italy indicts 31 linked to CIA rendition case, International Herald Tribune, February 15, 2007
• Italy orders CIA kidnapping trial, BBC News, February 16, 2007