France rejects extradition request for 10 former Red Brigades

France rejects extradition request for 10 former Br. Cartabia: “I look forward to hearing the reasons”

The Paris Court of Appeal has rejected the extradition requests for the ten former far-left Italian terrorists who have taken refuge in the country. The Court's Chambre de l'Instruction referred to Articles 8 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. They are Giorgio Pietrostefani (68), who was not present in court for health reasons, Enzo Calvitti (67), Narciso Manenti (65), Giovanni Alimonti (66), Roberta Cappelli (66), Marina Petrella (67), Sergio Tornaghi (63), Maurizio Di Marzio (60), Raffaele Venturi (70), Luigi Bergamin (72).

The Paris Court of Appeal has decided to reject all our requests for the extradition of the ten fugitives convicted in Italy for very serious crimes committed in the 22s and 2021s. The judicial process began after the historic decision of XNUMX April XNUMX by the Paris Government to forward Italy's requests for surrender to the French judges.

The Ministry of Justice wrote this in a note. The ministry then underlines how in the long time that has passed since those tragic events, Italy has never stopped advancing and renewing extradition requests for the fugitives, whose responsibilities have been ascertained with definitive sentences issued at the end of trials held in full compliance with all guarantees.

And over the past year, the Ministry of Justice has consistently ensured “punctual and complete collaboration with the French judges”. “I respect the decisions of the French judiciary, which acts with complete independence – commented the Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia -. I am waiting to hear the reasons for a ruling that indiscriminately denies all extraditions. This is a ruling that has been long awaited by the victims and the entire country, and it concerns a dramatic and still painful page in our history. The importance of the decision made a year ago by which Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti removed a decades-long political block remains: his gesture is a sign of full understanding of the tragedies experienced in our country during the Years of Lead and, above all, of the French government's trust in Italian magistrates and institutions".

The Ministry of Justice is waiting to hear the assessments of the Paris Attorney General's Office, the only one that can file any appeals against today's measure.