The Brazilian government
has a plan to send former leftist terrorist Cesare Battisti back
to Italy in the coming days, the site of daily O Globo reported
on Friday.
The idea is to fly Battisti out on a federal police aircraft
directly to Rome from Corumbà - the city where he has been held
since he was arrested two days ago on suspicion of tax evasion
and money laundering.
One of the magistrates who handled cases of Battisti's former
guerrilla group the Armed Proletarians for Communism (PAC),
Pietro Forno, said "he is a professional escape artist, he has
an honorary degree in escapes".
Forno said "he is a common criminal who got radicalised, to
use a vogue word, in jail. Radicalisation does not just concern
Islamist terrorism".
A Brazilian judge earlier on Thursday upheld Battisti's
arrest.
In his decision, the judge said Battisti's attempted escape
to Bolivia was a Breach of his status as political refugee and
also an offence to Brazilian public order.
Recalling that the Italian has benefited from asylum in
Brazil for years, the judge said Battisti had "enjoyed all the
rights inherent in the situation of refugees and all basic
rights".
Italy is working to bring back Battisti from Brazil so he
can serve two life terms for four 1970s murders.
He was arrested Wednesday in Corumbà, on the border between
Brazil and Bolivia.
The alleged would-be escape was launched after reports that
the Brazilian government is moving towards extraditing Battisti
for the murders committed in the 1970s 'Years of Lead' of
rightist and leftist terror.
Battisti tried to flee Brazil in a Bolivian taxi, the police
who arrested him in Corumbà said Thursday.
Italy is "strongly determined" to get Battisti back from
Brazil, Justice Minister Andrea Orlando said Thursday.
"All the necessary steps have been taken" and more will be
taken after Battisti's arrest for trying to take money out of
Brazil to Bolivia on Wednesday, Orlando said. Orlando noted that
Italy's extradition request had been "stalled for some time" by
Brazilian authorities.
Battisti told Brazilian police Thursday he was not afraid of
being extradited to Italy because he feels "protected" by a 2010
decree from former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who
granted him a "permanent visa" to stay in the South American
country, according to the website of Brazilian daily Estadao.
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