Khaled el Masri, a German citizen kidnapped by the CIA under extraordinary rendition has had German prosecutors file warrants for 13 CIA agents involved in his kidnapping and imprisonment.

They will only be prosecuted if they step off US soil, el Masri’s case has previously been refused by the US.

Mr. el Masri was kidnapped by a group of 13 CIA agents traveling aboard a Boeing 737. The plane left Mallorca on 23 January 2004, picked up Mr. el Masri in Macedonia and continued on to Afghanistan. Spanish officials managed to obtain all the names of those on board, including copies of some of the passengers’ passports.

A similar case has been moving forward in Italy, where a judge in 2005 ordered the arrest of 13 C.I.A. agents in connection with the abduction in Milan of a Muslim cleric.

Canadians are waiting for a response from the US  Senate judicial committee who has requested US Attorney General report back to them by the end of this week regarding the information the Justice Department says it has on Canadian computer engineer, Mahar Arar. Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman demanded Gonzales produce the information the Justice Department claims it has against Arar who has had his lawsuit dismissed in the US. It is now going before a court of appeals.