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Battisti may be extradited, says Brazil's supreme court

Italian fugitive Cesare Battisti may be extradited from Brazil, according to the head of Brazil's Supreme Court, in a move that defies an earlier decision by outgoing president Lula Da Silva. Judge Cezar Peluso said on Wednesday that Battisti, a left-winger who has been convicted in Italy for the murders of four people in the 1970s, could be sent back if he is found to be in Brazil illegally.

José Cruz/ABr
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Da Silva refused Italy's extradition demand on his last day in office.

Brazil's Supreme Court is due to determine whether Lula's decision is within the terms of the two countries' bilateral extradition treaty when it reconvenes in February, after a summer recess.

Italy calls Battisti, who has also lived in France and Mexico, a terrorist and has tried to get him returned for the past 30 years. The former left-wing activist was convicted in absentia for the four murders in 1993.

Since 2007 Battisti, who is 57, has been living in a jail cell in Brasilia after being captured. He claims that Italy is persecuting him.

Peluso said that court documents do not suggest he has been persecuted.

Newly-elected President Dilma Rouseff is now saddled with dealing with the case.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has pushed the Battisti matter, but has said it will not affect Italy-Brazil relations.

 

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