An Italian judge has sentenced 23 Americans - all but one of them CIA agents - and two Italian secret agents to up to eight years in prison for the abduction of a Muslim cleric in 2003. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Italian judge convicts 23 in CIA kidnap case
The agents were accused of abducting Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, known as Abu Omar, from Milan and sending him to Egypt, where he was allegedly tortured.
The trial, which began in June 2007, is the first involving the CIA's so-called "extraordinary rendition" programme.
Judge Oscar Magi dropped the case against another three American defendants and the ex-head of the Italy's Sismi military intelligence service, Nicolo Pollari, as well as his former deputy.
The Americans were all tried in their absence as they have not been extradited from the US to Italy.
The US State Department has expressed disappointment over the conviction. "We are disappointed by the verdicts against the Americans and Italians charged in Milan for their alleged involvement in the case involving Egyptian cleric Abu Omar," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. "The judge has not yet issued a written opinion so we're not in a position to comment further on the decision."
Members of a gang arrested in Peru have confessed to killing people and extracting their body fat to sell to international cosmetic companies, police claim.
