Cesare Battisti, 'Terrorist' Fugitive, Asylum Sparks Anti-Brazil Protests In Italy (PHOTOS)

(AP) Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has met with the son of one of the victims of fugitive rebel Cesare Battisti as the government increases pressure over Brazil's decision not to extradite him. (Scroll down for photos)

Berlusconi stressed Tuesday that relations with Brazil remain unchanged but that Italy considers the Battisti case a matter of justice.

Battisti, a former leftist rebel, was convicted of four murders carried out in the late 1970s. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva refused to extradite him on his last day in office.

A sit-in was planned Tuesday in front of Brazil's embassy. And Foreign Minister Franco Frattini met with Italy's recalled ambassador to Brazil and Italy's EU representative to study legal options at the European level to pressure Brazil to turn Battisti over.

View photos of the protests in Rome here:

1 of 9

1 of 10

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

A demonstrator holds a placard reading: "Battisti extradition now" during a protest in front of the Brazilian embassy in Rome.

Iran Sanctions: As Nuclear Talks Loom, Iranians Reflect On Issues

Egypt Presidential Elections 2012: Timeline Of Egypt After Mubarak

Shakil Afridi, Pakistan Doctor Who Helped Find Osama Bin Laden, Sentenced To Prison

Secret Service Scandal Did Not Result In Security Breach, Director Says

U.S. Eases Myanmar Sanctions

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran President, Wants To Attend London Olympics

A demonstrator holds a placard reading: "Battisti extradition now" during a protest in front of the Brazilian embassy in Rome.

comments(39)

Total comments: 39 | Post a Comment

1 of 10

Most Dramatic Shot

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Italy Brazilian Protests

loading...

Italy Brazilian Protests

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[Olga Pagu]

12:08 PM on 01/06/2011

Greece, Swiss, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Argentina and Nicaragua have all refused to cooperate with the Italian justice in extradition cases under Berlusconi government. Now Brazil joins the list. Is it just a coincidence? Italy has one of the most corrupted government of the western world. If they want to be taken seriously, they should get rid of that clown...

[Solemar]

08:28 PM on 01/05/2011

The US too but that doesn't stop Israel from taking its money. Why bring the N a z i stuff into this article?

[InfinteShibumi]

04:06 PM on 01/05/2011

Brazil has had a tortured history re extradition. Even of N a z i s.

[Olga Pagu]

12:51 PM on 01/05/2011

Berlusconi has "resurrected" Battisti case for political gain. He desperately needed a scapegoat to divert the public attention of his terrible government and Battisti is a perfect scapegoat, for it can also be used to send a "message" to Italian progressives who criticize Berlusconi. Battisti was convicted in absentia, following a case full of black spots, fragile evidences and filled of a plenty enough amount of reasonable doubts, within a context of government bribes, corruption, political radicalization, etc. Perhaps Battistis is guilty. But, the simple existence of strong argumentation leaning toward other conclusion is more than enough reason for the Brazilian government avoid being possibly used by Berlusconi for political gains. If European governments are so interested in chasing "terrorists", they could start by some of their leaders. Does the name 'Tony Blair' ring a bell?

[jasev01]

11:39 AM on 01/05/2011

sad my favorite 2 countries fighting.

[nelore]

10:38 AM on 01/05/2011

Governo brasileiro e burro demais.. na hora que ele foi preso no Brasil deveria ter sido enviado pra fora do Brasil de volta a Italia..ele fugiu da Franca e foi ao Brasil, portanto os franceses se viram livre desse pipino. E o Brasil fica coma caca essa e se dana todo

[SusanElizabeth1949]

10:42 AM on 01/05/2011

Your message would make far more sense posted in English.

[piul05]

10:55 AM on 01/05/2011

Believe me.. it wouldn't...

[Solemar]

08:30 PM on 01/05/2011

Tu es ainda mais burro por falares mal do teu pais aqui. Ou es Portugues?

[flamflurm]

09:00 AM on 01/05/2011

Lefties hang together no matter what the crime is.

[Hoogey]

10:47 AM on 01/05/2011

Right wing does all the time, just ask GW.

[MMRDO]

11:33 PM on 01/04/2011

If they have the evidence and all they should extradite him, I'm sure there's more to the case than is being discussed.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

02:17 AM on 01/05/2011

There is a pretty comprehensive article on Battisti on Wikki, and quite a few news articles on his 'career'. The man in a wheel chair in the photos was 10 when he saw his father shot by Battisti ---he got a bullet in the back and has been a paraplegic since then.

[piul05]

11:35 AM on 01/05/2011

Wrong.

Battisti was convicted in Italy for taking being a member of PAC and, as such, being implicated in the four murders attributed to the group - not of commiting them. And in fact, Gabriele Grimaldi, Giuseppe Memeo, Sebastiano Masala and Sante Fatone were identified as those involved in the murder of Pierluigi Torregiani.

Then, his trial was conducted in absentia and interestingly enough, he's the only one to get a life sentence, with several legal irregularities plaguing the whole process, and with witnesses either being certifiably mentally unstable or getting deals for pointing the finger at him. He's also been denied a new trial, were he to be extradited.

Finally, as you mentioned Wikipedia, make sure it's the one in Portuguese, as it's far more comprehensive and with a lot more references than the English version.

[SiberianRat]

09:55 PM on 01/04/2011

Shut yer porktrap, Silvio. You're an uberdisgrace to Italy.

[austerlitz1805]

12:32 PM on 01/05/2011

At least he keeps bringing Milan good players :) Forza Milan!

[NonConforming]

07:37 PM on 01/04/2011

At leat the left is consistent - they stand/support international killers/terrorists.

Way to go Leftists!

[SiberianRat]

09:56 PM on 01/04/2011

Yes, when you righties do it you call it patriotism. Buncha lyin hypocrits.

[NonConforming]

10:47 PM on 01/04/2011

Since when did Repubs or right wing govts in Europe grant amnesty to radicals who bombed public buildings and killed civilians?

The Left has been starting bloody revolutions for over 100 years now.

[Genders]

11:04 PM on 01/04/2011

Yeah like the CIA!

[baxtron]

05:34 PM on 01/04/2011

EFF YOU Italian RWAF's!

[LMPE]

05:17 PM on 01/04/2011

If Brazil has to extradite Cesare Battisti to Italy, then the US has to extradite Luis Posada and Orlando Bosch to Cuba.

[carlgt1]

05:44 PM on 01/04/2011

yeah it's not like the much more numerous right-wing terrorists ever face justice!

[MMRDO]

11:32 PM on 01/04/2011

The majority of terrorist activity internationally is done communists.

[drjasonmd]

06:07 PM on 01/04/2011

The US harboring terrorists. I guess that means they have to invade themselves.