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| Kidnap case ex-CIA agent Robert Lady 'en route to US' | Kidnap case ex-CIA agent Robert Lady 'en route to US' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An ex-CIA station chief held in Panama after being convicted in Italy over the kidnap of a terror suspect is '"en route" to the US, officials say. | An ex-CIA station chief held in Panama after being convicted in Italy over the kidnap of a terror suspect is '"en route" to the US, officials say. |
| Former Milan station chief Robert Lady had been released and had boarded a US-bound flight, said American officials. | Former Milan station chief Robert Lady had been released and had boarded a US-bound flight, said American officials. |
| Lady was sentenced to nine years in jail for his involvement in the 2003 abduction of the man - an Egyptian cleric - in Milan. | Lady was sentenced to nine years in jail for his involvement in the 2003 abduction of the man - an Egyptian cleric - in Milan. |
| The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was allegedly flown to Egypt and tortured. | The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was allegedly flown to Egypt and tortured. |
| In 2009, Lady was convicted in absentia with 22 other Americans for their role in his "extraordinary rendition". | In 2009, Lady was convicted in absentia with 22 other Americans for their role in his "extraordinary rendition". |
| He was reportedly arrested on Wednesday near Panama's border with Costa Rica. | He was reportedly arrested on Wednesday near Panama's border with Costa Rica. |
| According to Italian media reports, an international search warrant for Lady was sought by the justice minister in Italy's previous government in December 2012. | |
| The Milan case was the first involving extraordinary rendition, the CIA's practice of transferring suspects to countries where torture is permitted. | |
| The practice has been condemned by human rights groups as a violation of international agreements. | |
| Rendition controversy | |
| Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was considered a terrorism suspect by the US. | |
| He was abducted on a Milan street in February 2003 and transferred between US military bases in Italy and Germany before being brought to Egypt. | |
| Twenty-two CIA agents, including Lady and an air force pilot, were convicted in 2009 of abducting the cleric. Their sentences were upheld last year by Italy's highest appeals court. | |
| Three more Americans, including CIA Rome station chief Jeffrey Castelli, were convicted by an appeals court in February. | |
| None of the 26 convicted has ever appeared in an Italian court, and only two have had any contact with their lawyers. | |
| Lady reportedly rushed back to the US in 2007, when court hearings began in Milan to decide whether to put the 23 Americans on trial. | |
| He said he had opposed the proposal to kidnap the imam, but was overruled. | |
| Italy had previously said Lady was the only one of the 23 Americans that could be extradited, given the length of his sentence. |