A former Italian left-wing terrorist who had been given asylum in Brazil, Cesare Battisti, is going to be expelled from the South American country, Brazilian media reported Tuesday citing judicial sources. "We've been informed of the decision but there isn't a date yet," Battisti's lawyer, Igor Sant'Anna Tamasauskas, was quoted as saying by the Estadao website. Battisti, 60, has been sentenced to life in prison in Italy for the murder of four people in the 1970s when he was part of an extremist left-wing group during the so-called Years of Lead of political violence.
He was arrested in Brazil in April 2007, some five years after he had fled to that country with the help of false documents to avoid extradition to Italy from France following the end of the Mitterrand doctrine which gave sanctuary to fugitive leftist guerrillas.
He had lived in France for 15 years and become a successful writer of crime novels.
In January 2009 the Brazilian justice ministry granted Battisti political asylum on the grounds that he would face "political persecution" in Italy.
Then in one of his last acts in office, outgoing Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva declined Rome's request to extradite Battisti in December 2010, sparking outrage in Italy.
Battisti's time in Brazil looks set to end now though, as Brasilia Federal Judge Adverci Rates Mendes de Abreu has reportedly withdrawn his residence permit, while at the same time not overruling Lula's decision to reject Italy's extradition petition.
Indeed, the former terrorist may be sent to Mexico or France, sources said. "It's the case of a foreign citizen whose situation is not legal who, as a convict for crimes in his country of origin, does not have the right to remain in Brazil," ruled Rates Mendes de Abreu.
"Therefore, I cancel the act granting Cesare Battisti the right to reside in Brazil and request that the expulsion procedure be applied". Tamasauskas said Battisti will appeal. "We don't understand how the sentence can seek to modify a decision by the Constitutional Court and by the president," said Tamasauskas.
The son of one of four people murdered by Battisti, meanwhile, welcomed the news. "This could be a chance to reopen the extradition case," said Alberto Torregiani, who was crippled by the attack that killed his father Pierluigi in 1979. This will hinge on the reasons for the expulsion and what country Battisti ends up in, Torregiani told ANSA. Politicians from mainstream left-wing parties also welcomed news.
"A long chain of protection has been broken," said Democratic Party MP Paolo Bolognesi. "Brazil's decision not to shield unpunished terrorists is important". Socialist party secretary Riccardo Nencini said "let's hope that the decision...puts an end to a murderer's unfair and golden life on the run".
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