Ex-CIA agent freed in Portugal, avoids extradition to Italy
LISBON, Portugal — An American ex-CIA agent won a last-minute reprieve from a Lisbon court Wednesday and will no longer be extradited from Portugal to Italy, where a court convicted her of taking part in the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric.
The court ruled that Sabrina de Sousa must be released immediately since Italy had cancelled its detention and extradition request for her. The court provided its ruling to The Associated Press.
The decision came hours before de Sousa was due to be extradited and a day after Italy’s president granted her a partial clemency. President Sergio Mattarella late Tuesday shaved one year off her four-year sentence for her role in the abduction of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nas. Also known as Abu Omar, he was kidnapped from a Milan street in February 2003.
Neither de Sousa nor her Portuguese lawyer was immediately available for comment.