Former CIA Milan chief en route to US after being detained in Panama
Robert Seldon Lady was convicted in absentia in Italy four years ago for kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric
Reuters in Washington
The Guardian, Friday 19 July 2013 19.57 BST
Seldon Lady was among 23 Americans sentenced in absentia by an Italian judge in 2009. Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters
Former CIA Milan station chief Robert Seldon Lady, who was convicted in Italy of kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric and recently arrested in Panama, is headed back to the United States, a State Department spokeswoman said on Friday.
"It is my understanding that he is in fact either en route or back in the United States," said Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman.
She said she had no further details on whether he would be questioned by US authorities, or whether the United States would cooperate with Italy on this case.
Italy's top court last year upheld a guilty verdict against Seldon Lady for the kidnapping of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr who was snatched from a Milan street in 2003 and flown to Egypt for interrogation where he says he was tortured.
Seldon Lady was among 23 Americans sentenced in absentia for the abduction of the cleric by an Italian judge in 2009, and he was given a nine-year jail term.
He was quoted as telling Il Giornale newspaper in 2009 that he was not guilty and was carrying out orders from his superiors.
Also in that interview, he said he had wanted to stay in Italy but his retirement villa with vineyards had been seized to cover court costs.
The CIA declined comment.
