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			 The cleric, also known as Abu Omar, was abducted and secretly 
			flown to Egypt for interrogation under the U.S. "extraordinary 
			rendition" program in 2003. 
 			Nasr's abduction led to the first trial of its kind against the 
			"renditions" practiced by the administration of former U.S. 
			president George W. Bush, which have been condemned by human rights 
			groups as a violation of international agreements.
 			Under the program, the American CIA is alleged to have abducted 
			terrorism suspects and flown them to countries where they could be 
			tortured, a practice banned under international law.
 			Several ex-CIA agents involved in the kidnapping were tried in Italy 
			in absentia and sentenced to between seven and nine years in jail. 
			Italy was the first country to convict American nationals for their 
			involvement in a rendition.
 			
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			Nasr now lives in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, his lawyer 
			Carmelo Scambia said. Nasr denied the charges, which included 
			recruiting combatants for Iraq.
 			(Reporting by Sara Rossi, writing by Agnieszka Flak; 
editing by 
			Kevin Liffey) 			
			
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