Italy on Thursday threatened to take Brazil to the International Court of Justice in an angry row after the release of former far-left militant Cesare Battisti from a Brazilian maximum security prison.
Condemnation of the ruling from Brazil’s Supreme Court that set Battisti free came from across the political spectrum in Italy, where the 56-year-old has been sentenced to life in prison for four murders committed in the 1970s.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi expressed “great regret” and Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Rome “plans immediately to activate every possible judicial mechanism” including the international court in The Hague. Frattini said he believed the court will “recognise the violation of the extradition treaty” between Italy and Brazil. The ICJ is the main judicial organ of the United Nations and settles legal disputes between countries.
The minister added that Italy will “seek to overturn the decision, that it holds is not in accordance with… the requirements of international law.” The ruling, he added, “appears to breach international agreements.” Antonio Cassese, a senior legal expert quoted by La Repubblica newspaper, said Italy would “definitely win in the court in The Hague.” Rosy Bindi, president of the main centre-left opposition Democratic Party, also slammed the ruling as “a grave offence to Italy.”