German authorities have joined the Italian investigation into the apparent “extraordinary rendition” of an Egyptian cleric by the CIA, Der Spiegel reports.

Italian prosecutors have already issued warrents for the arrest of 22 CIA agents in the kidnapping of Abu Omar in Milan in 2003. Now German prosecutors are seeking the CIA agents who transferred the kidnapped Egyptian between two aircraft at the US airbase in Ramstein Germany.

At around 2030 on 17 Februar 2003, German prosecutors say, Omar was moved from the Learjet that had taken him from Aviano in Italy to Ramstein onto a Gulfstream that flew him on to Cairo.