Ex-Head of Italy Intel Agency Testifies

MILAN, Italy -- A former Italian intelligence chief who faces possible indictment over the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program said Monday he never took part in illegal activity.

Nicolo Pollari said at a hearing that he was unable to defend himself properly, claiming documents that would clarify his position had been excluded from the proceedings because they contained state secrets, according to his lawyers.

Pollari is one of five Italian intelligence officials facing possible indictment in the alleged abduction of cleric and terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr from a Milan street on Feb. 17, 2003.

Prosecutors say Pollari and other officials of the military intelligence agency SISMI worked with the Americans to abduct the cleric.

Twenty-six Americans also could be indicted in what would be the first criminal prosecution involving the CIA program to secretly transfer terror suspects to third countries, where critics say they may face torture.

Pollari volunteered to appear in court and was the first of the suspects to attend the closed-door preliminary hearing, which started Jan. 9 and continues into February.

There are about 80 documents that would show that Pollari did not participate in any illegal activity, said his lawyer, Franco Coppi. Those documents contain sensitive information and cannot be used in court, Coppi said.

Pollari's lawyers said their client was not able to defend himself unless he revealed information that might compromise national security. They want the proceedings suspended and the Constitutional Court to address the question of whether his lawyers can use the classified documents.

Pollari's defense also requested testimony from Premier Romano Prodi, former Premier Silvio Berlusconi and other top officials.

The prosecution has identified all but one of the American suspects as CIA agents, including former station chiefs in Rome and Milan; the other is a U.S. Air Force officer stationed at the time at Aviano air base, near Venice.

Two of Pollari's top aides, Gustavo Pignero and Marco Mancini, were arrested last year, and other SISMI officials were placed under investigation. Pignero has since died of cancer, while Mancini is said by his lawyers to be cooperating with prosecutors in implicating his boss.

Pollari has insisted in questioning before parliamentary committees that Italian intelligence had no role in Nasr's disappearance.

In a major sweep of Italian intelligence last year, Pollari was replaced as the head of SISMI, and the chiefs of the civilian secret service agencies were also removed. Last week, Pollari was named as a government consultant during a Cabinet meeting.

Prosecutors say the alleged kidnapping operation was a breach of Italian sovereignty that compromised their own anti-terrorism efforts.