Nordio asks to revoke Abedini's arrest

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 12 - Justice Minister Carlo Nordio has filed a request to the appeals court of Milan to revoke the arrest of Iranian citizen Abedini Najafabadi Mohammad, according to an official note released by the justice ministyry on Sunday.
    "Minister Nordio has filed a request to the Court of Appeals of Milan to revoke the arrest of Iranian citizen Abedini Najafabadi Mohammad", the note said.
    "Under article 2 of the extradition treaty between the government of the United States of America and the government of the Italian Republic, only crimes that are punishable according to the laws of both contracting sides can lead to extradition, a condition which, based on the state of documents, can't be considered as existing", said the ministry in a note on Nordio's request to the Milan appeals court to revoke Abedini's arrest.
    It added that the charge pressed against Abedini of criminal association to violate the International emergency economic powers act - a US federal law - did not correspond to any conduct recognized by Italian law as a crime.
    Abedini was arrested by Italian authorities on a US warrant on December 16, three days before Italian journalist Cecilia Sala's detention in Tehran.
    The 38-year-old engineer, who is accused of exporting drone parts used to kill three US servicemen in Jordan a year ago, is in a Milan jail awaiting a house arrest hearing on January 15.
    Sala, 29, a freelance reporter for Il Foglio newspaper and a podcaster at Chora News, returned to Italy Wednesday after being released by Iran.
    Tehran has denied that it imprisoned Sala to pressure Italy into releasing Abedini. (ANSA).