Italy Grants Partial Pardon to Ex-CIA Officer on Rendition Charges

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Italian President Sergio Mattarella's partial pardon decision means De Sousa can be eligible to apply to other sanctions to prison, reducing her sentence from four years to three years, BBC News reported on Tuesday.

De Sousa was one of 26 Americans convicted in absentia by the Italian judicial system for the February 2003 kidnapping of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar.

None of the other 25 Americans convicted served time for their alleged involvement in the abduction, with De Sousa being the first CIA officer handed over to Italian authorities. It remains unclear whether the former CIA agent would immediately face prison time or whether she might receive a new trial, given that the original conviction was in absentia.

De Sousa left the CIA in 2009 and currently resides in Portugal. In 2015, she was detained at Lisbon airport on a European arrest warrant, but was quickly released.

Portuguese authorities jailed de Sousa on February 22 after Portuguese courts accepted Italy’s extradition request. It is unclear whether de Sousa will be granted a new trial in Italy. She has said she was skiing elsewhere when the kidnapping took place.