The Italian court postponed the start of the trial in the extradition process of the deputy (-SP) until December 18th. The Rome Court of Appeal set the new date in a hearing that took place this Thursday (4). The court will decide whether to accept the defense’s request to include in the process what would be new evidence favorable to the congresswoman.
Italian lawyers are asking for around 70 documents to be added. According to Sheet found, there are texts published in Brazil about the political nature of the cases against the former president and allies, records that the minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) was sanctioned by the Magnitsky Law and reports on the situation of prisons in Brazil. Some of the documents are anonymous and others are old.
Among the documents is also the (-PR) presented to the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Committee) of the Chamber in the process regarding the deputy’s loss of mandate. The report, released last Tuesday (2), states that Zambelli is a victim of political persecution by Moraes.
“These are relevant documents for the deputy’s defense. Deputy Garcia’s opinion and the other items demonstrate that extradition must be denied,” he told Sheet Pieremelio Sammarco, Italian lawyer who defends the congresswoman. He had previously said that he would support the thesis that she is a victim of political persecution in Brazil.
Italian lawyer Alessandro Gentiloni, who represents Brazil, through the Attorney General’s Office, opposed the inclusion of the documents at the hearing, claiming that they do not comply with deadlines and format standards.
At the hearing on December 18th, the Court of Appeal will decide whether the new papers can be admitted to the process or not. If you accept them, you will be able to extend the deadline for the start of the extradition trial, so that the Brazilian representative can evaluate the content. If you reject them, you can enter into the merits of the extradition and start the decision at that same hearing.
Zambelli personally participated in this Thursday’s hearing. She has been imprisoned since the end of July in , in the Italian capital.
The court trial, as a first instance, had already been postponed last week after Zambelli’s defenders joined a strike by criminal lawyers in Rome.
The Italian Public Ministry has already declared itself, in a document sent to the court in October, in favor of extradition, as requested by Brazil. The body argues that all legal requirements for extradition exist, without any impeding reasons.
Zambelli fled the country in June to escape the ten-year prison sentence relating to the (National Council of Justice) and the issuance of a false arrest warrant against Moraes. When she was already in , she was sentenced to another five years for illegal restraint. The two cases make up a single extradition process.
After the decision of the Court of Appeal, both parties can appeal to the Court of Cassation, the last instance of the Italian Judiciary. The case then goes to the Italian government, which has the final say on extradition, through the Ministry of Justice. The government will have 45 days to respond. Finally, the parties may appeal to the Regional Administrative Court to challenge the government’s decision, as a public administration body.
Speaking to journalists at the end of November, in Rome, the Brazilian ambassador to Italy, Renato Mosca, estimated that the final decision on Zambelli’s extradition could be made around March 2026. According to him, in any case, the process should be completed in less than a year from the date of arrest, with all resources and defense rights.
Before arriving in Italy, after passing through the United States, Zambelli, who has dual citizenship, said that the Italian passport would make her “untouchable” and prevent her from being sent back to the country.
Since being arrested, she has had two unfavorable decisions in the Italian courts. The Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s request that she await the case under house arrest or freedom, as it assessed that there was a risk of flight. In October, the Court of Cassation, the last instance, denied the appeal and kept Zambelli in prison.
