Cleric Says CIA Agents Tortured Him

Egyptian cleric Osama Hassan Mustafa Nasr, known as Abu Omar, 44, shows a dark scar on his arm during his first public appearance since he was released from Egyptian custody last week, at a court house in Alexandria, Egypt Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007. An Egyptian cleric allegedly kidnapped by CIA agents off the streets of an Italian city and taken to Egypt said Thursday he was tortured in an Egyptian prison and that he wants to return to Italy. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (Nasser Nasser - AP)

The Bush administration has insisted that it gets guarantees from those countries that suspects will not be tortured. Egypt, Syria, Algeria and Saudi Arabia _ all countries with records of torture, according to human rights activists _ are believed to be among the countries where suspects have been sent.

Egypt, a close U.S. ally, has kept silent over its role in the program.

Nasr was freed in 2004, but was arrested again three weeks later after he spoke to a journalist by telephone. Egypt never acknowledged he was in custody, but the prime minister said in 2005 that "people have been sent" to Egypt, without elaborating.

An Italian prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for Nasr in April 2005 as part of a terrorism inquiry. Nasr was accused of fighting in Afghanistan and Bosnia, though his Egyptian lawyer denied he had ever visited those countries.

Nasr said Thursday he was innocent and wanted to return to Italy, where he was granted political asylum in 2001, four years after entering illegally. He appealed to Italy for help, saying Egyptian authorities had barred him from traveling.

"I want to go back and stand in front of the Italian judiciary and prove my innocence," he said.

Italian prosecutor Armando Spataro said Thursday that judicial authorities would like Nasr to testify against the American and Italian agents. Egypt has never responded to an Italian request for access to the cleric.

"Obviously it would be useful to hear what he has to say, but obviously it does not depend on us," Spataro said. "If he is banned from leaving (Egypt) there's nothing we can do."

Nasr spoke at the trial of Abdul-Kareem Nabil, a blogger from Alexandria who was convicted Thursday of insulting Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in his Internet writings and sentenced to four years in prison.

Nasr said Nabil was his neighbor in Alexandria, though it appeared he came to the court to make his appeal to the media. After the court session, he told an Associated Press reporter that he could not speak more for fear of arrest.