Brazil gunman wants Battisti extradited

(ANSA) - Sao Paulo, September 29 - A gunman carrying explosives who took a hostage in a Brasilia hotel has demanded the extradition of Italian former leftwing terrorist Cesare Battisti.
    The gunman carrying several sticks of dynamite took a hotel employee hostage and barricaded himself in one of the rooms. Police have evacuated some 300 hotel guests, surrounded the building, and sent negotiators to talk to the gunman, local media reported.
    Battisti has been sentenced in Italy to life in prison for the murder of four people in the 1970s when he was part of an extremist left-wing group.
    The Brazilian Supreme Court voted in June 2011 not extradite him and to uphold a decision by Brazilian ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the grounds that Battisti would face "political persecution" in Italy.
    It was da Silva's last act as president on January 1, 2011.