Sabrina de Sousa: Ex-CIA spy flees Italy in mysterious circumstances saying she fears for her safety

Sabrina de Sousa was convicted of helping with the abduction of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr in Milan

De Sousa denies involvement in the abduction (Pic: Vice)

A former US spy who was pardoned by Italy for her role in the CIA kidnapping of a terror suspect in Milan has suddenly fled from Italy because she fears for her safety, according to a report.

Sabrina de Sousa was convicted of helping with the abduction of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr as part of a CIA "extraordinary rendition" programme to snatch terrorism suspects in various countries and transfer them in secret to undergo interrogation in third countries.

She was one of 26 people convicted but the only one to spend any time in prison for the operation.

The Italian president commuted her four-year prison sentence but she was still due to carry out community service until next year.

Newspaper Il Corriere della Sera said de Sousa decided to flee back to America after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and CIA director Gina Haspel visited Rome in October.

CIA director Gina Haspel (Getty)

"I was terrified of the consequences that I could face," the dual Portuguese-U.S. citizen was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"The arrival of Haspel in Italy confirmed to the Italian government that the US administration had washed its hands of my case," she added, without elaborating.

Pompeo visited Italy at the beginning of October, while Haspel met Italy's secret service heads in Rome on October 9, according to Italian media. So far, no connection between the meetings and the De Sousa case has been reported.

Andrea Saccucci, an Italian lawyer who has submitted an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of De Sousa, confirmed on Sunday that his client had left Italy but could not explain why De Sousa had returned to the United States despite her fears about the US administration.

"She only told me that she is now in the States," Saccucci told Reuters.

Il Corriere quoted De Sousa as saying that "thanks to the recent changes to the Whistleblower Act" she could reveal further details on the case.

Nasr said he was tortured after being transferred to Egypt under the programme, an aspect of President George W. Bush's "war on terror" that drew condemnation from human rights groups and even some US allies.

De Sousa has always claimed her innocence, saying she was not in Milan on the day of the abduction and did not plan the kidnap.

Agencies contributed to this report