Jailan Halawi listens to 's account of his abduction as a victim of so-called extraordinary rendition, his four years of being held in detention, and his future hopes Osama Mustafa Hassan Nasr, aka , is an Egyptian Muslim cleric allegedly abducted in February 2003 in Milan, Italy, under the so- called "extraordinary renditions" programme run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in which terror suspects are secretly transferred to detention centres around the world for questioning. Cases of extraordinary rendition have recently been meticulously scrutinised by the international media, the press carrying out a series of investigative reports in a bid to unravel the mysteries and complicated circumstances of the programme. Human rights organisations have also launched a campaign against states suspected of involvement in cases of extraordinary rendition, insisting that even under the pretext of combating terror the flagrant violation of the individual's basic rights and liberties make such cases clear violations of human rights law. A significant example has been that of , who left his house in Milan for noon prayer on 17 February 2003 and was not heard of again until 20 April 2004, when he telephoned his wife to say he had been kidnapped and detained in Egypt. Over the past four years, all that existed of were the protests of his wife, his lawyers, and human rights organisations, which urged the Egyptian authorities to set the man free, or allow them access to him in detention, all to no avail. The first official acknowledgement of the cleric's being on Egyptian soil came in an interview conducted by Al-Ahram Weekly in December 2005 with a high-ranking Ministry of Interior official, who said that had "voluntarily turned himself in". The official did not give any further details, describing allegations of extraordinary rendition as "ridiculous". On 11 February 2007, was finally released, and, according to his lawyer Montasser El-Zayat, banned from travelling, placed under house arrest and instructed not to speak to the press. So far, he has not complied. Two weeks after his release, started to appear on satellite television channels to talk about his ordeal, and he was briefly quoted in some of the independent domestic newspapers. His abduction and release were ignored by the national press. This week, the Weekly visited at his modest house in the coastal city of Alexandria and listened to the story of his trauma and his vows to dedicate the rest of his life to the support of the wronged and downtrodden. "I am extremely happy to be once again with my family and friends, yet my years of incarceration have left me jobless, almost a human wreck, with loads of health problems and an uncertain future. I am trying hard to pull my act together, but I still fear to walk down the street on my own lest I be arrested, kidnapped again or even killed," he says. Sitting next to this man, whose whereabouts were unknown for years and whose case has sparked a plethora of controversies, involving, so far, the CIA and the Italian intelligence agencies, one cannot help but wonder what he did to stir the ire of such agencies. "Up till now, no one has told me why they did this to me," he says. "But the horrors I've seen made me hate my life, in which death many times seemed to be the only hope of rescue from what appeared to be an endless dark tunnel." According to Egyptian security files, is considered to be a cadre of a militant Islamist group. He was detained for six months in 1989, and upon his release he left the country and started a long journey from Jordan to Yemen, Pakistan, Albania, Germany and finally Italy in 1997, where he was granted political asylum in June 2001, claiming political persecution in his homeland. In his interview with the Weekly, does not give much information about this journey, but he explains that he was working in Islamic humanitarian aid organisations. Regarding his stay in Peshawar in Pakistan, he explains that he came into conflict with some of "the brothers", who had adopted military operations, saying that this was the reason he left the country. However, he gives no details of his travel in Albania and Germany, except to note that his first wife, and the mother of his daughter, 12- year-old Sara, and his son, 11-year-old Omar, was Albanian, and that his son was born in Munich. He does not give the reason for his departure from Albania for Germany, and then for Italy. During his stay in Italy, worked as the imam, or preacher, of the Milan main mosque, and to serve his daawa, or preaching purposes, he established an Islamic Media Centre, which issued a weekly newspaper called The Islamic Truth. In Italy, says he gained a reputation as a "radical Islamic preacher" for his fiery Friday sermons and for statements that were harshly critical of the US administration's policies in the Middle East. The aim of the media centre, explains, was "to expose unfairness wherever it existed," and the US administration was the target of much of his criticism. "I believe it was my vocal criticism of the US [administration] that led to my abduction. I used to organise peaceful marches and demonstrations to denounce their unfair policies against Muslims and Arabs, and circulate articles and statements to this effect, as well as hold photo-exhibitions depicting their aggression. As a result, they wanted me out of Europe," he says. A document found in Rome on 5 July 2006 in a flat used by Italy's military intelligence service, the SISMI, containing notes on 's case, includes details of investigations into the Al-Qaeda network in Italy. was suspected of being a key element in contact with Al-Ansar in Iraq and Egypt's militant Jihad group. Allegations that the cleric provided money and false documents to allow alleged members of terrorist groups to travel were found among the notes. While there is no evidence to link with the carrying out of terrorist attacks, his kidnappers may have thought that he had information they needed to extract at almost any cost. For his part did he see his abduction coming? "No," replies, adding that he was never summoned for questioning during his long stay in Italy, nor was he involved in any illegal activities. But, after the 9/11 attacks, life for the Muslim community took on a different form, he says, and he was aware that his activities were under close surveillance while in the mosque, on the phone, in the street and even at home. "However, I never imagined that this could happen to me. It [the day of the abduction] was an inexplicably difficult day from the horrors and torture I suffered," he says. Walking down the street to the mosque in Milan to perform the noon prayer, was stopped by the driver of a speeding red Fiat, who claimed he was a police officer, and asked for his documents. The alleged officer then ordered to get on the pavement, "and suddenly I found two hulks lifting me off the ground from my shoulders, beating me mercilessly, blindfolding me and pushing me facedown on the floor of a huge van that took off in seconds." After a long drive, the van stopped at a destination that he could not identify apart from its "freezing cold" temperature and the sound of engines. After tying his hands and feet with wires "that left me screaming with pain," 's kidnappers took off the blindfold and took a number of pictures of him. It was during these few seconds that he noticed there were around eight to 10 men wearing beige uniforms that looked like those of the special forces, and that they had black masks on. Before taking him to the next destination, "they wrapped my face with Scotch tape and then took me to what felt like a fridge [probably a jet], where I spent around seven to eight hours of extreme pain and torture at the hands of merciless people. I did not gather what was happening and started to pray. When we stopped, I heard the dawn prayer and the voice of a man speaking in Arabic ordering me to get in the car. At that moment I realised I was in Egypt." In the car, 's wire cuffs were replaced by iron ones, and at his next destination the men removed his face cover and took pictures of him, then blindfolded him again with a piece of cloth, moved him to a room and seated him on a chair. "In the room my interrogator said, 'Osama there are two top-ranking officials with us, one of them will speak to you'. The official then told me, 'Osama, can you hear me?' I said yes. He said, 'I will ask you one specific question and I need a decisive answer. Would you like to go back immediately to Italy but work as our agent?' I said no, since I would not spy on my Muslim brothers in return for earthly comforts." Following this, was confined to a solitary cell for 14 months and was then released on the condition that he did not talk to the press. However, he did not comply. He telephoned his wife, Nabila, who was in Italy, and told her the whole story of his abduction and detention. Less than a month after his release the cleric was once again detained until his release last month. 's case has sparked outrage in Italy, where top Italian and US intelligence officials are on trial for the abduction. In Milan, prosecutors investigating his disappearance allege he was flown to Egypt from a US air-base after being snatched by a CIA team helped by Italian intelligence. In January, a court in Milan began a hearing to decide whether to indict 26 alleged CIA agents and several Italians accused of involvement in the 2003 kidnapping. Italian prosecutors have said the cleric was snatched on a Milan street and flown, via a US military base in Germany, to Egypt where he was interrogated. An investigation is also underway in Germany over the allegations. Last month, the Milan prosecutor made an extradition request for 26 CIA agents suspected of the abduction, along with warrants for the arrest of six Italian intelligence officers. Since the case became public has received offers from various quarters to drop the case in return for large sums of money. Yet, he has refused and is taking the matter to court, his lawyer asking for 20 million euros in compensation. "After my ordeal, I don't trust any government. They might give me the money and then accuse me of stealing it. I am taking my case to court, and I trust it will grant me my due," he says. Meanwhile, says that his ordeal has left him determined to fight against all forms of injustice. "I don't think with my health condition I will live for many years. But I've vowed to dedicate the rest of my life to the search for justice and to support the wronged and downtrodden," he says. The trial will resume its hearings on 8 June. It is the world's first trial involving the US extraordinary renditions programme.
