Italy irate at Brazil’s refusal to extradite Battisti

Brazil’s refusal to extradite Italian fugitive Cesare Battisti on murder convictions has sparked a bitter bilateral row.

Lula’s decision before stepping down as Brazilian President on New Year’s Day flies in the face of Silvio Berlusconi’s wishes. The Italian prime minister has vowed to pursue the extradition battle and Rome has recalled its ambassador to Brazil, to give him a message for Lula’s successor.

“I don’t think the Brazilian government is right,” said Marcello Riccardi, a resident of the Italian capital. “We have a justice system and it must be upheld”

“The fact that he has claimed to be a political refugee is just an excuse, something that came after the fact,” added fellow Rome resident Silvana Strozzi. “For those who have suffered – don’t they have a right to justice?”

Facing life in prison in Italy for the murders, dating back to the 1970s, Battisti escaped from an jail there in 1981 while awaiting trial when he was a member of a extreme-left-wing group.

He went on to become a crime novelist in France.

But he fled the country when Paris approved his extradition and was arrested in Brazil in 2007.

He denies the accusations against him.

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