Italy grants partial clemency to ex-CIA agent in abduction of Muslim cleric
Reporting from Rome — The Italian president has granted partial clemency to an American ex-CIA agent on the eve of her expected extradition from Portugal.
The presidential palace said late Tuesday that President Sergio Matterella had shaved one year off Sabrina de Sousa’s four-year sentence for her role in the abduction of a Muslim cleric, Osama Moustafa Hassan Nas. The cleric, also known as Abu Omar, was kidnapped from a Milan street in February 2003.
De Sousa denied involvement.
De Sousa, who has dual U.S.-Portuguese citizenship, had been due to be flown from Lisbon to Milan, Italy, on Wednesday to start serving her sentence.
The palace noted that because her sentence was reduced to three years, she no longer has to go to prison, but can serve out the remainder of her sentence in alternative service.
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