In a defeat for the defense of the former deputy (PL-SP), the Court of Appeal of , in , rejected this Tuesday (10) the request to replace the panel of judges responsible for analyzing the extradition process to Brazil.
As a result, the court will resume judging the case this Wednesday (11), in a new hearing scheduled for 10 am (6 am Brasília time).
The request to change magistrates was examined by the 1st criminal section of the court – the judges retained in the extradition analysis are part of the 4th criminal section. The defense can appeal to the Court of Cassation, the last instance of the Italian Judiciary.
Zambelli’s initiative to request a change of magistrates, which ended up being denied, arose from the court’s decision to suspend the session on January 20th, due to lack of time to examine a series of requests presented by the defense.
One of them was for Eduardo Tagliaferro, former advisor to minister Alexandre de Moraes at the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), to be heard as a witness. Tagliaferro was accused of leaking messages from members of Moraes’ office to obstruct investigations into the coup plot. He is in Italy, prevented by the courts from leaving the country while he awaits the processing of his extradition process.
The former deputy’s lawyers had also requested access to more information about Colmeia, the prison in the Federal District where Zambelli is expected to serve his sentence in Brazil, and the confidential documentation of the trial that took place in Brazil.
The former deputy and her lawyer Pieremilio Sammarco understood the postponement of the session as a rejection of their demands, classified the judges as “hostile” and days later formalized the request to replace the court.
For lawyer Alessandro Gentiloni, who represents Brazil in the process through the AGU (Advocacia Geral da União), there were no grounds for changing judges.
“From our point of view, it was a maneuver designed to buy time. We are pleased that the court was organized to decide before tomorrow’s hearing [esta quarta]”, Gentiloni told Folha after this Tuesday’s session.
This Wednesday’s session will be a continuation of the hearing on January 20, and the court will be able to resume evaluating the requests presented by the defense.
It will be an extraordinary hearing, outside the day’s agenda, so that there is time for all parties to express themselves. It is possible that a decision on extradition will be made after the session and will be communicated in the coming days.
Zambelli, who participated in the hearing via video from Rebibbia prison, has been detained in Italy for six months, after being on the run for two months. His extradition trial has been postponed three times since the end of November. Shortly before Christmas, the court granted more time for the defense to analyze documentation sent by Brazil about prison conditions. Previously, the defense had joined a strike and, on another occasion, the court asked for time to analyze papers presented by the former deputy’s lawyers.
If extradited, the prison time in Italy will be deducted from the remainder of the sentence to be served in Brazil.
The deputy claims to be a victim of political persecution by the STF (Supreme Federal Court) and fled the country in June to escape the ten-year prison sentence for the invasion of the CNJ (National Council of Justice) system and the issuance 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.
The Rome Court of Appeal acts as the first instance in this case. After the court’s decision, the parties will be able to appeal. The final say on extradition will rest with the Italian government, through the Ministry of Justice.
