GERMANY: German lawyer expresses satisfaction after Munich prosecutors issue arrest warrants for his client's alleged CIA kidnappers

A court in Germany has ordered the arrest of 13 people suspected of being involved in the abduction of a Lebanese born German national who says he was kidnapped and tortured by the CIA, Munich prosecutor, August Stern, said on Wednesday (January 31). A district court in Munich on Wednesday (January 31) issued warrants for the arrest of 13 suspected CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) on suspicion of falsely imprisoning and causing grievous bodily harm to Khaled el-Masri, a German of Lebanese descent. Senior prosecutor August Stern said the accused were charged with "false imprisonment and serious bodily harm." "Some of those people are part of the flight crew and others belong to the so called 'rendition team,' in other words the kidnapping team." "The next step will of course be efforts to find out the real names" of the accused, Stern added. Manfred Gnjidic, German lawyer of Khaled El Masri who says he was kidnapped by the CIA and held in a prison in Afghanistan, told reporters in Augsburg on Wednesday he was happy Munich prosecutors issued arrest warrants for his client's alleged captors. Manfred Gnjidic said at an impromptu news conference that "Mr. El Masri needs three things: the first thing is that the American government has to confirm what they have done to him. The second thing he is interested in is that they explain why this happened to him. And the third thing is -- because we know now that he is innocent -- that they apologise to him." Masri was arrested in Macedonia at the end of 2003 and says he was handed over to the CIA, who then flew him to Afghanistan and wrongly held him until his release in late May 2004. Investigators say they believe his account. State prosecutors said the suspects had been identified on the basis of a list compiled with the aid of Spanish authorities. Masri's case has fuelled debate in Europe about secret transfers of terrorism suspects by U.S. intelligence agencies.

ITN Source | February 1, 2007

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