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Germany issues CIA arrest orders Germany issues CIA arrest orders
(30 minutes later)
Germany has issued arrest warrants for 13 people over the alleged-CIA backed kidnapping of a German citizen, officials and local media say. Germany has issued arrest warrants for 13 people over the alleged CIA-backed kidnapping of one of its citizens.
Munich prosecutors said that the warrants were linked to the case of Khaled al-Masri, a German national of Lebanese descent. Munich prosecutors said the arrest warrants were linked to the case of Khaled al-Masri, a German national of Lebanese descent.
Mr Masri says he was seized in 2003 in Macedonia, flown to a secret prison in Afghanistan and mistreated there.Mr Masri says he was seized in 2003 in Macedonia, flown to a secret prison in Afghanistan and mistreated there.
He has been trying to file a lawsuit against the CIA over his claims. He says he was released in Albania five months later when the Americans released they had the wrong man.
German officials said in September that they had received a list of 20 people involved in the alleged kidnapping from Spanish investigators. Mr Masri says his case is an example of the US policy of "extraordinary rendition" - a practice whereby the US government flies foreign terror suspects to third countries without judicial process for interrogation or detention.
Munich Prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld said that the warrants had been issued in the last few days and that a statement would be made later in the day. Munich Prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld told the Associated Press news agency that the warrants had been issued in the last few days and that a statement would be made later in the day.
German arrest warrants are not valid in the US but if the suspects were to travel to the European Union they could be arrested.
Kabul prison
Mr Masri says he was abducted by US agents in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, on 31 December 2003.
He is seeking to sue the US government over his detention, but in May a judge dismissed a lawsuit he filed against the CIA, citing national security considerations.
Meanwhile in the Italian city of Milan, court hearings to decide whether to indict 25 alleged CIA agents and several Italians accused of kidnapping a Muslim cleric in 2003 are under way.
Osama Mustafa Hassan, or Abu Omar, says he was abducted from the streets of Milan and then tortured in Egypt.