Italian trial of CIA agents will continue, judge rules

Reporting from Milan, Italy, and Madrid - The landmark trial of American and Italian spies accused of abducting an Egyptian cleric in Milan will continue, a judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting a defense bid to end the proceedings.

The decision was a victory for prosecutors pursuing the first trial to examine the so-called rendition process, in which the CIA allegedly abducted suspects abroad and sent them to third countries for harsh interrogation. But the ruling benefits two former Italian spy chiefs because it upholds a Constitutional Court judgment in March excluding evidence on the grounds of state secrecy.

"The most important thing is the fact that the trial goes on, but it's clear that the court ruling has imposed some surgical cuts," said Armando Spataro, the lead prosecutor, in an interview. "We will have to see, due to the limitations that have been imposed, which part of the interrogations we will be able to use."

Judge Oscar Magi ruled that state secrecy laws limited the use of evidence about contacts between the CIA and Italy's spy agency, then known as the SISMI. Magi also cited state secrecy in rejecting requests for the testimony of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his predecessor, whose governments have tried repeatedly to scuttle the prosecution.

The American defendants consist of 25 known or suspected CIA operatives -- among them former chiefs in Italy -- and an Air Force colonel. They are being tried in absentia.

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