An Italian judge has ordered 26 Americans - most of them CIA agents - to stand trial over the kidnap of an Egyptian cleric in Milan in 2003.
Osama Mustafa Hassan was allegedly seized by the CIA and flown to Egypt, where he says he was tortured. Five Italians were also indicted by the judge.
Most of the indicted US citizens are believed to have returned home from Italy.
The case would be the first criminal trial over the secret US practice known as 'extraordinary rendition'.
Washington acknowledges secret transfers of terrorism suspects to third countries but denies using or sanctioning torture, and is not expected to hand over its agents for trial.
The case is the subject of a lot of interest across Europe.
The European Parliament approved a report on Wednesday saying governments of 14 member states, including Ireland, helped conceal secret US transfers of terrorism suspects.
A court in Munich in Germany issued arrest warrants last month for 13 suspected CIA agents accused of kidnapping a German of Lebanese descent and flying him to a jail in Afghanistan, where he too says he was tortured.
