The Italian court postponed again this Thursday (18) the trial of the extradition process of the former deputy (-SP), who has been imprisoned in the country for almost five months.
The Court of Appeal responded to the request of the former congresswoman’s defense, which requested more time to analyze documentation sent by Brazil to the prison about the location and conditions of the prison that Zambelli will receive if she is extradited.
Last week, minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the (Supreme Federal Court), indicated in an order that Zambelli, known as Colmeia, has medium security.
The next hearing was scheduled for January 20. At the trial, the court will decide whether there are conditions for the Brazilian court’s request to be granted for the former congresswoman to be sent to Brazil.
After this phase, from which the first decision on extradition will be made, the parties will be able to appeal. The expectation is that the entire extradition process will be completed in the first half of 2026.
Zambelli personally participated in the hearing. She has been detained since the end of July in , in the Italian capital, after being on the run for two months. The former deputy says she is a victim of political persecution by the STF.
The Public Ministry has already declared itself in favor of extradition, as requested by Brazil, in a document sent to the court in October.
According to Sheet As it turned out, the defense asked this Thursday that Zambelli be placed under house arrest, at an Italian address, to celebrate Christmas. The court will analyze it and should issue its decision in the coming days.
This is the third time that the trial, initially scheduled for the end of November, has been postponed. First, due to the former congresswoman’s defense joining a lawyers’ strike and, secondly, because the court asked for time to decide whether new documents presented by Zambelli’s lawyers could enter the process as evidence.
The Italian lawyer Alessandro Gentiloni, who represents Brazil through the (Advocacia-Geral da União), had opposed the inclusion of the documents, claiming that they did not comply with deadlines and format standards.
Between the last postponement and this Thursday’s hearing, the former deputy’s case gained new chapters in Brazil. Zambelli was spared from impeachment by the Chamber plenary on the 11th, which contradicted the determination of the STF, which, therefore, overturned the decision. Three days later, on Sunday (14), she resigned from her mandate.
Zambelli fled the country in June to escape the invasion of the (National Council of Justice) system and the issuing of a false arrest warrant against Moraes. When she was already in Italy, she was sentenced to another five years for illegal possession of a firearm and illegal restraint. The two cases make up a single extradition process.
Before arriving in Italy, after visiting Argentina and 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.
