Brussels, 05/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - This was the first time it ever happened in Europe: on Wednesday 4 November, 23 ex-CIA agents and 2 Italians were sentenced by an Italian court for the kidnapping of an Egyptian Imam in Milan. This difficult trial began in 2007, and is the first on the secret renditions carried out by the CIA of people suspected of terrorism, to countries practising torture, following the attacks of 11 September 2001. In total, 26 Americans and 7 Italians were tried in absence for the sequestration in the street, in February 2003, of Imam Abou Omar. Among the Americans sentenced were the former head of the CIA in Milan, Robert Sheldon Lady, sentenced to 8 years in prison and 22 other former agents, who should, in principle, spend 5 years in prison. None of them came to Milan for the trial and the US has refused to extradite them. Two former Italian agents received 3-year prison sentences, whilst proceedings against the former head of the CIA in Rome, Jeffrey Castelli, as were proceedings against the former Number 1 of Italian military intelligence, Nicolo Pollari and his Number 2, Marco Mancini. Although the US State Department said it was “disappointed” by the verdicts, the human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch, was delighted with the result. The court sentenced all the accused to compensate the former Imam to the tune of €1 million, with the possibility of the latter being able to go to a civil court to claim more and pay €500,000 to his wife (B.C./transl.fl)