Asylum in Brazil
Battisti fled to Brazil and was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on March 18, 2007.
After that the government of Brazil granted Cesare Battisti the status of political refugee through a decision of its Minister of Justice Tarso Genro. Battisti's request for asylum was first denied by the National Committee for Refugees, in a decision taken by simple majority. His defense appealed to the Minister of Justice, who granted in January 2009 refugee status, a decision which divided Brazilian public opinion. Refugee status, however, halts the request for extradition, which is being considered by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano wrote to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, informing him of the "emotion and understandable reactions" raised in his country, in public opinion and among political forces, by this "grave decision". Italian Justice Minister, Angelino Alfano, has asked Brazilian authorities to reconsider this decision, "in the light of international cooperation against terrorism". Lula answered Napolitano mentioning that Genro's decision is founded on the Brazilian constitution and on the UN 1951 Convention on Refugee Status, and is an act of sovereignty of Brazil.
Criticism was also based on speculations about the influence exerted by Carla Bruni, spouse of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on Genro's decision. Brazilian Senator Eduardo Suplicy attested to Corriere della Sera that Bruni herself asked Lula to refuge Battisti. Bruni denied this claim on a RAI interview as she expressed her condolences with the families of Battisti's victims.
Controversy surrounded Genro's decision on granting refugee status to Battisti. Many law specialists have spoken saying that the decision was illegal. The Brazilian Supreme Court started trying the case in September 2009. By 5 votes to 4 (simple majority), the court ruled Genro's decision null and void on 18 November. But the court also decided by 5 votes to 4 on the interpretation that the Brazilian constitution gives the president of the executive branch personal powers to deny the extradition if he choses to, effectively putting the final decision in the hands of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On the 29th December 2010, unofficial reports in Italy and Brazil said President Lula was about to announce he had denied the extradition of Battisti, just 3 days short of ending his presidential mandate. The official announcement took place on December 31, hours before the end of Lula's mandate.
On June 8, 2011, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that Lula's decision regarding the non-extradition of Battisti is final. Italian authorities announced their intention to appeal to Hague international court against Brazil for breaching the extradition treaty
Read more about this topic: Cesare Battisti (born 1954)
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“The most threatened group in human societies as in animal societies is the unmated male: the unmated male is more likely to wind up in prison or in an asylum or dead than his mated counterpart. He is less likely to be promoted at work and he is considered a poor credit risk.”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)