Abu Omar finally met his Italian lawyer Carmelo Scambia Sunday in Cairo, where he signed the official documents to get Scambia on the case. The two later went to the Italian Consulate in Cairo, without a prior appointment, accompanied by Abu Omar’s Egyptian lawyer Montasser el-Zayat.

[Above: Abu Omar signing the power of attorney, in the presence of Carmelo Scambia and Montasser el-Zayat, at Cairo's Lawyers' Syndicate. Photo by Hossam el-Hamalawy.]

The reason for the visit was to get the consulate stamp on the Italian translation of the Egyptian documents. Also, Abu Omar wants to issue new Italian travel documents, instead of those confiscated by the Egyptian Mukhabarrat on his arrival in Cairo on a CIA-chartered flight in February 2003 to face a torture odyssey, or what the CIA calls “extraordinary rendition.”

The three were met by the Italian Consular. While he was happy to process Abu Omar’s translated documents, he said he was not authorized to issue him travel documents, asking him instead to go to apply at the Italian Consulate in Alexandria, his city of residence. Abu Omar is planning to go there today.