Cesare Battisti (born 18 December 1954) is an Italian terrorist, former member of the
Armed Proletarians for Communism
Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in ...
(PAC), a
far-left
Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...
militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
and
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
group which committed acts of illegality and
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
s in Italy in the late 1970s during the period known as the "
Years of Lead". He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Italy for four homicides (two policemen, a jeweller and a butcher). He fled Italy first to France and then to Mexico before settling in Brazil where he lived as a free man until an order of extradition issued in December 2018. He then fled to
Santa Cruz in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, where he was arrested in 2019 by an Italian team of
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
and extradited to Italy where is currently under arrest. He is also a
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
author, having written 15 novels.
Battisti was sentenced to 12 years for being a member of an armed group and for the material killing of two people and instigating another two homicides. He fled to France in 1981, where he received protection under the
Mitterrand doctrine
The Mitterrand doctrine (from French: ''Doctrine Mitterrand'') was a policy established in 1985 by French President François Mitterrand, of the Socialist Party, concerning Italian far-left terrorists who fled to France: those convicted for viole ...
. Later, he was
tried ''in absentia'' based on testimony in Pietro Mutti's trial implicating him in four murders, bringing the total number of charges against him to 36. He was sentenced to
life in prison
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
in 1995. After the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' repeal of the Mitterrand doctrine in 2002, Battisti fled to Brazil under a false identity to avoid a possible extradition.
He was arrested in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
on 18 March 2007 by Brazilian and French police officers. Later, the Brazilian Minister of Justice
Tarso Genro
Tarso Fernando Herz Genro (born March 6, 1947) is a Brazilian politician from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. A prominent associate of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Genro was one of the most important leaders of the Workers' Party (PT) ...
granted him the status of
political refugee
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entit ...
, in a controversial decision which was much criticized in Italy, even in Brazil and the international press.
[Centro de Mídia Independente, 14 January 2009]
''Cesare Battisti conquista condição de refugiado político''
On 5 February 2009, the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
adopted a resolution in support of Italy
and held a minute of silence in memory to Battisti's victims. On 18 November 2009, the
Brazilian Supreme Court
The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for const ...
considered the refugee status illegal and allowed
extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
, but also stated that the Brazilian constitution gives the president personal powers to deny the extradition if he chooses to, effectively putting the final decision in the hands of Brazilian President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
. On 31 December 2010, on Lula's last effective day as president, the decision not to allow extradition was officially announced.
Battisti was released on 9 June 2011 from
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
after the Brazilian Constitutional Court denied Italy's request to extradite him. Italy plans to appeal to the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
in The Hague. In March 2015 a federal judge ruled null and void the decision to grant him a permanency visa as it would conflict with Brazilian law, ordering his deportation. On 14 September, the sixth section of the
Regional Federal Courts
The Regional Federal Courts (in Portuguese, ''Tribunais Regionais Federais'', commonly called TRFs) are the courts of appeal of . They represent the second instance courts of the Brazilian Federal Justice system and are responsible not only for ap ...
of the First Region (seated in Brasília) declared the deportation of Battisti illegal.
In December 2018, Brazilian President
Michel Temer
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...
signed the order to extradite Battisti after the
Brazilian Supreme Court
The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for const ...
ordered his arrest. He fled justice after this and escaped to Bolivia, where he was finally arrested on 12 January 2019. He was extradited to Italy the day after, where he is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment.
Youth and PAC membership
Cesare Battisti was born in 1954 at
Cisterna di Latina
Cisterna di Latina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina in Lazio, of central Italy. It was the scene of the Battle of Cisterna in January 1944.
The Garden of Ninfa is located in the commune's territory.
The town, then known as ''T ...
, near
Latina
Latina or Latinas most often refers to:
* Latinas, a demographic group in the United States
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America.
*Latin Americans
Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
. He left the
classical lyceum
Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age.
Until 1969, this was ...
he was attending in 1971, engaged in petty crime, and then moved on to more serious offenses.
In 1976, he moved to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, and took part in activities of the PAC, an
autonomist Marxist
Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, Post-Marxism, post-Marxist and anar ...
group which conducted armed struggle, and which had a "horizontal", decentralized structure, opposed to the centralist organization of the
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...
(BR). The organization, which counted approximately 60 members, had its roots in
Barona
Barona is a border district ("quartiere") of the city of Milan, Italy. It is part of the Zone 6 administrative division, and it is located south of the city centre. Its population can be roughly estimated to 85,000 (official data are not available ...
, a district in the south of Milan.
Four assassinations were committed by the PAC: Antonio Santoro, a prison guard accused by the PAC of mistreatment of prisoners (on 6 June 1978 in
Udine
Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...
); jeweler Pierluigi Torregiani, who had shot and killed a robber in an act of self-defense (on 16 February 1979 in Milan); Lino Sabbadin, a butcher and member of the neo-fascist
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...
(on the same date, near
Mestre
Mestre () is a borough of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy.
Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the ''Municipalità di ...
); and
DIGOS
Digos, officially the City of Digos ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Digos; fil, Lungsod ng Digos), is a 2nd class component city and capital of the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 188,376 people.
...
agent Andrea Campagna, who had participated in the first arrests in the Torregiani case (on 19 April 1979 in Milan). The PAC also engaged in several robberies.
The murder of Torregiani and Sabbadin had been decided by the PAC because both of them had killed militants in the past. Torregiani was killed as revenge in front of his 13-year-old son, who was also shot by his father as a result of a tragic error.
Valerio Evangelisti
Valerio Evangelisti (20 June 1952 – 18 April 2022) was an Italian writer of science fiction, fantasy, historical novels, and horror. He is known mainly for his series of novels featuring the inquisitor Nicolas Eymerich and for the Nostradamu ...
''Valerio Evangelisti répond à 50 questions''
The son was left paralysed, and the
paraplegic
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
Torregiani considers now that, in any case, Battisti is responsible for the shooting, and should serve his sentence in jail: "It's not about the person of Cesare Battisti," he declared to the national press agency ANSA, "It's in order that everyone understands that, sooner or later, those who have committed such serious crimes should pay for their faults."
First trial and escape
Cesare Battisti was arrested and jailed in Italy on 26 February 1979, sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison for participation in an "armed group" ("partecipazione a banda armata"). He was sentenced on the ground of material evidence and
testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter.
Etymology
The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness.
La ...
provided by two "''
collaboratori di giustizia''" (defendants who testified against their former accomplice) who benefitted from lighter sentences for their testimony.
[Cesare Battisti: dire la vérité, respecter les droits]
, Human Rights League (LDH), public statement of 17 March 2007 The status of "collaboratore di giustizia", also popularly known as ''pentito'', was established by
anti-terrorist legislation
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
enacted during this period.
PAC members organised his escape on 4 October 1981, while he was in
Frosinone
Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...
prison. Battisti fled to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and then
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca
Puerto Escondido (English: "Hidden Port") is a small port and tourist center in the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec Distrito 22 in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Prior to the 1930s, there was no town. The bay had been used as a port intermittent ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, very shortly afterward. While in Mexico, he founded a literary review, ''Via Libre'', which is still active. He also participated in the creation of the Book Festival of
Managua
)
, settlement_type = Capital city
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Nicara ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
, and organised the first Graphic Arts Biennal in Mexico. Battisti began to write at the suggestion of
Paco Ignacio Taibo II
Paco Ignacio Taibo II (born Francisco Ignacio Taibo Mahojo; on January 11, 1949), also known as Paco Taibo II or informally as PIT is a Spanish- Mexican writer, novelist and political activist based in Mexico City. He is most widely known as the ...
and collaborated with various newspapers.
Second trial
Pietro Mutti, one of the leaders of the PAC who had been sentenced ''
in absentia
is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent".
may also refer to:
* Award in absentia
* Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body
* Election in absen ...
'' for the assassination of the prison guard Santoro, was arrested in 1982. He sought the status of ''collaboratore di giustizia'' and his testimony, which helped him reduce his sentence, implicated Battisti and an accomplice in the four assassinations claimed by the PAC. Battisti's trial was thus reopened in 1987, and he was sentenced ''in absentia'' in 1988 for two assassinations (Santoro and DIGOS agent Campagna) and complicity in murder in the two others (jeweler Torregiani and butcher Sabbadin). The court sentenced him in 1995, on appeal, to a
life-sentence. Two years earlier, the
Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
had quashed, on procedural grounds, the case against Battisti's accomplice, accused by Pietro Mutti.
Two of the assassinations occurred on 16 February 1979, one at Milan at 15h, and the other in Mestre, 270 km away from Milan, at 16h50. Battisti was sentenced for materially committing the first assassination, and for planning the second one.
Return to France
In 1985, the
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
President of France
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
had indicated that "leftist Italian activists who were not indicted for violent crimes and had given up terrorist activity would not be
extradited
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
to Italy"; this became known as the "
Mitterrand doctrine
The Mitterrand doctrine (from French: ''Doctrine Mitterrand'') was a policy established in 1985 by French President François Mitterrand, of the Socialist Party, concerning Italian far-left terrorists who fled to France: those convicted for viole ...
". Many Italian political activists had fled to France during the 1970s-1980s. Trusting in this declaration, Battisti returned to France in 1990, where he was arrested at Italy's request in 1991, when his sentence was confirmed in the Court of Cassation. He thus passed five months in
Fresnes prison
Fresnes Prison ('' French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a smal ...
and then was freed after the extradition request was rejected by the
Paris Appeal Court on 29 May 1991. French justice concluded that the
anti-terrorist legislation
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...
enacted in Italy "went against the French principles of law," which, along with the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
(ECtHR), prohibited in particular extradition of a person sentenced ''in absentia'' if that person had not been in a condition to adequately defend himself during his trial.
[ The court also declared the evidence against Battisti as "contradictory" and "worthy of a military justice."
After his release in 1991, Battisti lived in Paris, where he wrote his first novel, ''Les Habits d'ombre'' ("The shadow clothes"). Two thrillers, ''L'Ombre rouge'' ("The red shadow") and ''Buena onda'' ("Good wave"), took as their setting and backdrop the Parisian world of Italian fugitives from justice. Another major novel, titled ''Dernières cartouches'' ("Last bullets"), takes place in Italy during the "years of lead".
In 1997, jointly with other left-wing Italians who had fled to France and were accused of taking part in violent crimes, he asked without success the ]President of Italy
The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...
at the time, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (; 9 September 1918 – 29 January 2012) was the president of Italy from 1992 to 1999. A member of Christian Democracy (DC), he became an independent politician after the DC's dissolution in 1992, and was close to the centre ...
( DC), for amnesty
Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...
.
Diplomatic dispute between France and Italy
Over the years, Italy asked France several times to arrest and extradite left-wing Italians involved in court cases connected with political violence in Italy who had fled to France. On 11 September 2002, the extradition of Battisti and others was again requested during a meeting in Paris between Italy's Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
Roberto Castelli
Roberto Castelli (born 12 July 1946) is an Italian politician. He was the Minister of Justice in the second and third governments of Silvio Berlusconi. He has been one of the main representatives of the Northern League.
Early life and educatio ...
and France's Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
Dominique Perben
Dominique Perben (born 11 August 1945) is a French politician. Born in Lyon, he was French Minister of Transportation from 2005 to 2007. He was previously Minister of Justice (2002–05), Minister of Civil Service and Administration (1995–199 ...
.
Arrest in France
On 10 February 2004, the French government arrested Battisti at Italy's request and planned to extradite him to Italy. On 30 June 2004, the Paris Court of Appeal approved his extradition. An appeal to the Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
was filed against this opinion and another to the '' Conseil d'État'' against the extradition decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
. President Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
stated on 2 July 2004 that he would not oppose the French justice system's decision to extradite him. Perben confirmed Paris' new position: "There is no ambiguity. There has been a change of attitude from France, and I support it," (in reference to the "Mitterrand doctrine"), among other reasons "because of the European construction".[Richard Mallié, deputy of the ](_blank)
, ''Question au gouvernement: Extradition de Cesare Battisti'', 26 October 2004">Bouches-du-Rhône">Richard Mallié, deputy of the Bouches-du-Rhône
, ''Question au gouvernement: Extradition de Cesare Battisti'', 26 October 2004 [Clarisse Vernhes, « Paris prête à extrader d’autres «brigadistes»](_blank)
in '' RFI'', 2002
As of 2007, only Paolo Persichetti">Radio France Internationale">RFI'', 2002
As of 2007, only Paolo Persichetti, former member of the ''Unità Comuniste Combattenti'', among the 200 Italians involved in Court cases dealing with political violence requested by Italy, had been extradited (in August 2002). He was eventually sentenced to 22 years in prison. Minister
Edouard Balladur signed Persichetti's extradition decree in 1994; it was validated by the ''
Conseil d'Etat'' the following year.
According to
RFI radio station, the Perben-Castelli agreement was divided in three parts: all events before 1982 would be
prescribed "except in case of exceptional gravity"; facts between 1982 and 1993 would be "examined on a case by case basis", in function of the
European Convention of Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
(ECHR) principle and of the "conditions in which the trials took place in Italy".
Still claiming innocence, Cesare Battisti failed to check in at the local police station while on parole, and went underground on 21 August 2004.
On 18 March 2005, the French
Conseil d'Etat (the French Supreme Court in administrative law), ruling ultimately for Battisti's extradition, affirmed clearly that the Italian legislation did not conflict with the French principles of law. The Conseil established that:
In July 2005, the Italian press revealed the existence of the
Department of Anti-terrorism Strategic Studies (DSSA), a "parallel police" created by
Gaetano Saya
Gaetano Saya (born 24 April 1956) is a former Italian politician and military leader. Saya was captured by the military police on his return from a mission in Iraqi Kurdistan, on 13 February 2017 and released on 4 May 2017. He is now the leade ...
, leader of ''
New Italian Social Movement'' neofascist party, and
Riccardo Sindoca, two leaders of the National Union of the Police Forces (''Unpf''). Both claimed they were former members of
Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European intelligence agencies during ...
, NATO's "stay-behind" paramilitary organization involved in Italy's
strategy of tension
A strategy of tension ( it, strategia della tensione) is a policy wherein violent struggle is encouraged rather than suppressed. The purpose is to create a general feeling of insecurity in the population and make people seek security in a strong go ...
and various alleged activist acts. According to ''
Il Messaggero
''Il Messaggero'' (Italian : "The Messenger") is an Italian newspaper based in Rome, Italy. It has been in circulation since 1878.
History and profile
''Il Messaggero'' was founded in December 1878. On 1 January 1879, the first issue of ''Il M ...
'', quoted by ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', judicial sources declared that wiretaps suggested DSSA members had been planning to kidnap Cesare Battisti.
On 5 February 2005, the European Parliament adopted a resolution in which it expressed its trust "that the re-examination of the decision on the extradition of Cesare Battisti will take into account the judgment delivered by an EU Member State in full compliance with the principle of the rule of law in the European Union".
The
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
(ECtHR), in its December 2006 decision, rejected Battisti's claim that France's extradition decision was illegitimate. The Court considered that:
The applicant had patently been informed of the accusation against him and of the progress of the proceedings before the Italian courts, notwithstanding the fact that he had absconded. Furthermore, the applicant, who had deliberately chosen to remain on the run after escaping from prison, had received effective assistance during the proceedings from several lawyers specially appointed by him. Hence, the Italian and subsequently the French authorities had been entitled to conclude that the applicant had unequivocally waived his right to appear and be tried in person. The French authorities had therefore taken due account of all the circumstances of the case and of the Court’s case-law in granting the extradition request made by the Italian authorities: manifestly ill-founded.
Arrest and asylum in Brazil
Battisti fled to Brazil and was arrested in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
on 18 March 2007.
After Brazil granted him refugee status through a decision of its Minister of Justice
Tarso Genro
Tarso Fernando Herz Genro (born March 6, 1947) is a Brazilian politician from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. A prominent associate of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Genro was one of the most important leaders of the Workers' Party (PT) ...
. 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
Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
wrote to Brazilian President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
, 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
, spouse of the French President
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
, on Genro's decision. Brazilian Senator
Eduardo Suplicy
Eduardo Matarazzo Suplicy (born 21 June 1941) is a Brazilian left-wing politician, economist and professor. He is one of the founders and main political figures on the Workers Party of Brazil (PT). In the municipal elections of São Paulo in ...
attested to ''
Corriere della Sera
The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015.
First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...
'' that Bruni herself asked Lula to refuge Battisti. Bruni denied this claim on a
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
interview as she expressed her condolences with the families of Battisti's victims.
Controversy surrounded Genro's decision to grant refugee status to Battisti. Many law specialists have said that the decision was illegal. The Brazilian Supreme Court began trying the case in September 2009. By 5 to 4 (simple majority), the court ruled Genro's decision null and void on 18 November. However, the court also decided by 5 to 4 that the Brazilian constitution gives the president personal powers to deny the extradition if he chose, effectively putting the decision in the hands of Brazilian President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
.
On 29 December 2010, unofficial reports in Italy and Brazil said President Lula was about to announce he was denying extradition of Battisti, just three days short before the end of his presidential term. The official announcement did take place on 31 December, hours before the end of Lula's time in office.
On 8 June 2011, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that Lula's decision is final. Italian authorities announced their intention to appeal to the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
saying Brazil breached an extradition treaty.
In November 2013, the
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
The Federal University of Santa Catarina ( pt, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, UFSC) is a public university in Florianópolis, the capital city of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil.
Considered one of the leading universities in Brazil, ...
invited Battisti to speak at a conference.
Cesare Battisti lived in the town of Embu das Artes, in the São Paulo metropolitan area, and worked as a realtor.
In March 2015, a federal judge ruled null and void a decision to grant him a permanent visa as this would conflict with Brazilian law, and ordered his deportation. The judge stressed that the deportation should not be confused with extradition, as it does not require that Battisti be surrendered to Italy, but rather to the country from which he entered Brazil, or any other country that will agree to receive him.
In June 2015 Battisti married Joice Lima, a Brazilian citizen.
On 14 September 2015, the Regional Federal Court of São Paulo declared the expulsion illegal and canceled the order of deportation.
Extradition to Italy
On 12 January 2019, Battisti was arrested by an Italian team of
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
in Santa Cruz de La Sierra, Bolivia, and returned to Italy to start serving his sentence.
[ On 25 March 2019, Battisti acknowledged his responsibilities in the crimes attributed to him, pleading guilty. He was imprisoned in the Costantino Satta Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison of ]Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
; however, in 2022 he was transferred to a regular penitentiary in Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
. The transferring was strongly criticized by the centre-right coalition
The centre-right coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-destra) is an alliance of political parties in Italy, active—under several forms and names—since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed his Forza Italia party. Despite ...
(particularly the League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
and Brothers of Italy
Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...
) and by the families of Battisti's victims.
Public opinion
Until 25 March 2019, Cesare Battisti denied having committed any of the murders he had been sentenced for; on that date he admitted to the chief prosecutor of Milan (Francesco Greco) involvement in four killings. The circumstances of his sentence have been questioned. A movement claiming Battisti's innocence is active in the media and in public opinion (especially in France and Italy). Among the most vocal supporters of Battisti are the writers Fred Vargas
Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (born 7 June 1957), a French historian, archaeologist and novelist.
As a historian and archeologist, she is known for her work on the Black Death. Her crime fiction ''policiers'' ( ...
, Valerio Evangelisti
Valerio Evangelisti (20 June 1952 – 18 April 2022) was an Italian writer of science fiction, fantasy, historical novels, and horror. He is known mainly for his series of novels featuring the inquisitor Nicolas Eymerich and for the Nostradamu ...
and Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy (; ; born 5 November 1948) is a French public intellectual. Often referred to in France simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the " Nouveaux Philosophes" (New Philosophers) movement in 1976. His opinions, political acti ...
. They consider that the trials conducted in Italy were marked by irregularities. These alleged irregularities involved the use of torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
(Battisti's French lawyers have not used this peculiar charge, the violation of article 3 ECHR, in their rejected claim to ECtHR), and the misuse of witnesses
In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
: according to Battisti's supporters, witnesses against Battisti were either affected by mental troubles, or were "collaboratori di giustizia", (that is, defendants testifying against other defendants in order to benefit from a reduced sentence. Those peculiar witnesses are also used by French justice, i.e. art. 132-78 French ''Code pénal''). Battisti's supporters also claim that ballistic
Ballistics may refer to:
Science
* Ballistics, the science that deals with the motion, behavior, and effects of projectiles
** Forensic ballistics, the science of analyzing firearm usage in crimes
** Internal ballistics, the study of the proce ...
analysis and graphological expertises used in Italian court cases do in fact exonerate Battisti, contrary to what the courts considered.Fred Vargas
Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (born 7 June 1957), a French historian, archaeologist and novelist.
As a historian and archeologist, she is known for her work on the Black Death. Her crime fiction ''policiers'' ( ...
« Cesare Battisti: A la recherche de la justice perdue »
in ''La Règle du Jeu'', n°30 (January 2006) [Cesare Battisti, ''Ma Cavale'', 27 April 2006, Preface p. 13 ]
Most of public opinion in Italy disagrees with those views, and Battisti's arrest in Brazil has been commented upon favourably in the media. Rifondazione Comunista
The Communist Refoundation Party ( it, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who replac ...
, however, claims that he should not be extradited, as he would not be granted the right to a new trial. In France, supporters of Battisti, such as Gilles Perrault
Gilles Perrault (born Jacques Peyroles; 9 March 1931) is a French writer and journalist.
Biography
Born in Paris, Perrault attended the Collège Stanislas de Paris and then studied at the Institut d'études politiques, eventually becoming a ...
, have called the 2007 arrest, a few weeks before the April 2007 presidential election, an "electoral feat," closely timed by the then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
, candidate for the UMP conservative party. François Bayrou
François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections. ...
, candidate for the UDF right-of-center party, has called for a new trial, as have members of the left-wing.[
Defenders of Battisti, among whom the Human Rights League (LDH), consider that France's decision to extradite Battisti was illegal, since Battisti would not have the right to a new trial after having been judged ''in absentia''. The right to a new trial is not a sufficient guarantee for the defendant, as clearly ruled by the ECHR in the case of ''Krombach v. France'', application no. 29731/96; and also article 6 of ECHR, the juridical ground of Battisti's claim against extradition, doesn't prescribe a new trial. ECHR establishes that there is not an absolute right to a new trial after a trial in absentia. Battisti's claim concerned the defendant's knowledge of the trial, and Battisti's lawyers argued that the defendant had not been in a position to know that in Italy there was a trial against him, and therefore his rights had been violated.
The '']Union syndicale des magistrats
The Union syndicale des magistrats, commonly abbreviated as USM, is the French largest (and majoritarian) magistrates trade union – both in terms of membership (roughly 2,000 out of 8,000 magistrates) and support in professional elections (68% of ...
'' (USM, the largest trade union of French judges) has supported the fairness of the Italian trial in absentia and has also confirmed the legality of Battisti’s condemnation:[Communiqué USM Affaire Battisti in ]
References
Bibliography
* ''Travestito da uomo'' (French title: ''Les habits d'ombre'')
* ''Nouvel an, nouvelle vie'' (1994)
* ''L'ombre rouge'' (Italian title: ''L'orma rossa''; 1995)
* ''Buena onda'' (1996)
* ''Copier coller'' (1997)
* ''J'aurai ta Pau'' (1997)
* ''L'ultimo sparo'' (French title: ''Dernières cartouches''; 1998)
* ''Naples'' (1999, short story anthology with works also by Jean-Jacques Busino, Carlo Lucarelli
Carlo Lucarelli (born 26 October 1960) is an Italian crime-writer,
Re-linked 2014-04-26 TV presenter, and mag ...
, Jean-Bernard Pouy Jean-Bernard is a French masculine given name. It may refer to :
* Jean-Bernard Gauthier de Murnan (1748–1796), a French officer for the Continental Army
* Jean-Bernard Knepper
Jean-Bernard Knepper (1638 – 14 November 1698) was a Luxembourg ad ...
and Tito Topin
Tito may refer to:
People Mononyms
* Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman
* Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...
)
* ''Jamais plus sans fusil'' (2000)
* ''Terres brûlées'' (2000, editor)
* ''Avenida Revolución'' (2001)
* ''Le Cargo sentimental'' (2003)
* ''Vittoria'' (2003)
* ''L'eau du diamant'' (2006)
* ''Ma cavale'' (2006)
External links
Audio interview of Battisti, by Isabelle Sommier
11 February 2004, ''France Inter
France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...
'' on Daniel Mermet's show
The website of the "Associazione Italiana Vittime del Terrorismo e dell'Eversione Contro l'Ordinamento Costituzionale dello Stato" (Association of terror victims)
Battisti in Brazil
Page on Battisti's case (Ext 1085) on the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battisti, Cesare
1954 births
Living people
20th-century Italian criminals
People from the Province of Latina
Italian expatriates in Brazil
Urban guerrilla warfare
Fugitives wanted on terrorism charges
Italian communists
Anti-revisionists
Autonomism
Italian assassins
Terrorism in Italy
20th-century Italian novelists
20th-century male writers
21st-century Italian novelists
France–Italy relations
Brazil–Italy relations
People convicted in absentia
Italian people convicted of murder
Italian people imprisoned abroad
Prisoners and detainees of Brazil
Italian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Italy
Communist terrorism
People extradited from Brazil
Italian exiles