Italy PM To Press State Secrecy In CIA Trial

Twenty-six Americans and seven Italians are on trial accused of kidnapping a terrorism suspect in Milan in 2003 and flying him to Egypt.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will tell a Milan court trying Italian and U.S. spies for a suspected CIA "rendition" that details of agreements between the two countries' secret services are classified, his lawyer said.

This could be a blow to Italian prosecutors who are seeking testimony about collaboration for alleged secret transfers of terrorism suspects, known as "extraordinary renditions".

Twenty-six Americans and seven Italians are on trial accused of kidnapping a terrorism suspect in Milan in 2003 and flying him to Egypt. There, the suspect, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, says he was tortured and held for years without charge.

The trial hit a roadblock last month when two former Italian spies, citing a letter from Berlusconi's office, invoked state secrecy while testifying. A judge is awaiting clarification from Berlusconi about what evidence is classified.

Nicola Ghedini, Berlusconi's lawyer, told Reuters that agreements with foreign intelligence agencies are state secrets. So any orders given in Italy that could disclose such agreements would also be classified.

"If orders are connected in any way with agreements between the American and Italian governments, it's obvious that they cannot be divulged," Ghedini said in an interview, outlining what he expected Berlusconi's office to tell the court.

Berlusconi was expected to confirm witnesses can testify about the actual "event" of the suspected kidnapping, which the state did not know about and is not classified, Ghedini said.

Berlusconi's response, due by Nov. 21, may not please Judge Oscar Magi, who said last month it was hard for prosecutors to prove a kidnapping if related evidence was classified.

"It would be a bit like saying that only a crime's historic occurrence is knowable and ascertainable and not its causes, not the conduct of those behind it, not its later justifications," Magi wrote in his observations, obtained by Reuters.

KEY TESTIMONY IN QUESTION

State secrecy has long cast a shadow over the criminal trial, in which the Americans are being tried in absentia.

The trial could even be thrown out altogether by Italy's Constitutional Court, which convenes on the case in March. The Italian state has argued that prosecutors trampled on state secrecy rules when pursuing their investigation.

Even if the trial continues, the latest state secrecy snag could prevent a former head of Italy's military intelligence agency SISMI from offering key testimony as evidence.

Gianfranco Battelli told prosecutors during their investigations that the CIA sounded him on renditions in 2001.

"(The CIA station chief in Rome) asked my opinion, 'What do you think' about the hypothesis of carrying out the strategy of so-called renditions," Battelli told prosecutors, according to a copy of the testimony during the investigation, seen by Reuters.

Battelli said he told the CIA chief he was on his way out of office and that the CIA should talk with his successor.

That man, Nicolo Pollari, is the highest-level former Italian official facing indictment. He denies any wrongdoing.

Berlusconi, a strong ally of U.S. President George W. Bush, was prime minister when Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, disappeared and may also be called to testify in the coming months.

"He will have no problem responding (in court)," Ghedini said. "The Italian government did not know anything about the Abu Omar case, it never made (the disappearance of) Abu Omar classified, and nothing can be said about U.S.-Italy agreements related to the management of intelligence agencies."