Rome slams Brazil refusal to extradite ex-militant

ROME: Italy on Thursday denounced a Brazilian supreme court decision rejecting extradition of former far-left militant Cesare Battisti to Italy where he has been sentenced to life for four murders.

Youth Minister Giorgia Meloni declared: "The decision by the Brazilian supreme judges not to authorize the extradition of a criminal like Battisti, just like that of then-president Lula, represents the umpteenth humiliation for the families of his victims."

Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Battisti's extradition in a case that has heightened tensions between the two countries.

The justices in a majority decision said that a decision by former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to deny the Italian extradition request and authorizing Battisti to remain in Brazil was in compliance with a bilateral treaty.

Meloni, quoted by ANSA news agency, said the latest move was "a slap in the face for Italian institutions, an act unworthy of a cvilised and democratic nation."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011