German prosecutors want CIA agents extradited

Prosecutors in Munich, Germany, are requesting the extradition from the United States of 13 suspected CIA agents they say took part in the 2003 kidnapping of a German citizen. Earlier this year, a Munich court ordered the arrest of the 13 on suspicion of kidnapping Khaled el-Masri, a German of Lebanese descent who says he was flown from Macedonia to Afghanistan where he was imprisoned for months and tortured. The chief prosecutor in the Bavarian state capital, August Stern, said on June 25 he now wants them extradited to Germany for trial. "These are persons who we believe were involved in the abduction of Mr. Masri," Stern said. "It [the request] affects all 13 suspected CIA agents." Stern said he had formally made the request to the German federal government in Berlin for it to be passed on to Washington. The Masri case has focused media attention on CIA kidnappings of suspected terrorists for interrogation and possible torture in third countries. The practice, called "extraordinary rendition," has caused tensions inside Germany, and between Berlin and Washington.