Washington (CNN) -- A former CIA base chief wanted by Italy and detained in Panama has been released, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday. Robert Seldon Lady, who had been convicted by an Italian court for his role in a 2003 rendition case, was flying back to the United States. "It's my understanding that he is in fact either en route or back in the United States. Beyond that I have no further details," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters. In a 2009 trial, an Italian court convicted Lady and 22 others of abducting Osama Mustafa Hassan Nasr, or Abu Omar, from the streets of Milan in 2003. Italian prosecutors said Abu Omar was nabbed by a CIA team working with Italian officials.An ex-CIA base chief was arrested in Panama on an Italian arrest warrantHe was convicted in absentia for his role in a 2003 rendition caseThe State Department says Robert Seldon Lady is now headed to the United States
In the 2009 trial, the Italian court sentenced _ to eight years in prison, prosecutor Armando Spataro said.