Gianfranco Battelli

Gianfranco Battelli (mariner, spook)
Born	1937 La Spezia, Italy
Died	March 2022 (Age 84)
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	Italian Naval Academy
SISMI Director on 9-11, who reports that he refused to cooperate in kidnapping terrorist suspects for the CIA.  SISMI/Director In office 4 November 1996 - 30 September 2001 Preceded by Sergio Siracusa Succeeded by Nicolò Pollari

Admiral Gianfranco Battelli was director of the Service for Information and Military Security (Sismi) between 1996 and 2001.

Career

Before arriving at Sismi, coming from the normal courses of the Italian Naval Academy, he commanded over the course of his career numerous naval units, worked for ten years at the general staff of the Navy and held the position of Chief of Staff of the Minister of Defense.

Battelli revealed in 2006 (after the kidnapping of Abu Omar in 2003) that a few days after 9/11. The CIA station chief in Rome paid him a visit to ask whether Sismi would cooperate in the kidnapping of suspected terrorists and sending them overseas. Battelli, who declined to cooperate, recalled in a deposition, that he was "expressly referring to the possibility of picking up a suspected terrorist in Italy, bringing him to an airport and sending him from there to a foreign country."

Der Spiegel stated that "Battelli, whose retirement was imminent, didn't even register any form of protest. He simply recommended having a word with his successor."

Battelli's employment as SISMI/Director ended on 30 September 2001.^[How?]

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