Arrested CIA man heading back to US

ONLY HOURS after Italy announced the arrest in Panama of the former head of the CIA in Milan, the US State Department said he was returning to the United States.

Agent Robert Lady was arrested in Panama at the request of Italy for the kidnapping of an Egyptian Imam, "I understand that in fact he is en route or back in the United States," said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf when asked about the whereabouts of Lady.

But the spokesman did not elaborate on the case, wrapped in a veil of secrecy says news agency AFP.
The Italian Ministry of Justice said Thursday that Lady, nicknamed "Mister Bob" was arrested in Panama, but Panamanian authorities declined to confirm. isthmus.
Italian Minister of Justice, Anna Maria Cancellieri, signed a provisional arrest request for Lady and has two months to demand his extradition.
The U.S. is accused of the 2003 kidnapping of Egyptian imam, Abu Omar, a member of the radical Islamist opposition, who was provided political asylum in Italy. The imam was then transferred to Egypt where he claims to have been tortured.
The Court of Appeal of Milan confirmed in December 2010 sentences ranging from seven to nine years in prison for 23 agents. Most went to "Mister Bob", who is now 59 years old.
The sentences pronounced when all defendants were fugitives, had been confirmed in September 2012 by the Court of Cassation.
Abu Omar, whose real name is Hasam Osama Nasr was kidnapped on a Milan street on February 17, 2003 during a coordinated operation between the Sismi (Italian military intelligence service) and the CIA and flown to Egypt.
His lawyers say he was tortured in the high-security prison where he was held in Egypt and had demanded $ 12 million for damages.