Italy's ambassador to Brazil has been recalled after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opted not to extradite a leftist extremist facing murder charges in Italy on Friday, his last day in office. Ambassador Gherardo La Francesca will be recalled while Italy considers its legal options, the Foreign Ministry said, pointing to bilateral agreements between the two countries.
Lula's decision mirrored a recommendation by Brazil's attorney general. The country's Supreme Court had ruled in 2009 that it has no objections to Cesare Battisti's extradition, but left the final decision up to the president. Hopes had been high in Italy that Lula would approve the extradition. Battisti's case has long been a bone of contention between the two countries.
Battisti has been on the run from Italian authorities since 1981, when he escaped from prison while awaiting trial for four killings allegedly committed by the Armed Proletarians of Communism. He fled to France and was subsequently tried in absentia for two of the murders and sentenced in Italy to life in prison. In France, Battisti benefited from a policy introduced by then- president Francois Mitterand granting Italian leftists refuge. He embraced a new career as a mystery writer. However, sensing that France was reversing its asylum policy, Battisti disappeared in 2004. He re-emerged in Brazil, where he was arrested in March 2007 following a request from Interpol. Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa had made clear on Thursday that Battisti not being handed over would be unacceptable.