The pre-candidate for federal deputy for São Paulo Rita Zambelli (PL), mother of Carla Zambelli (PL), spoke out this Thursday (26) about the decision of the Court of Appeal of Rome that authorized the extradition of the former federal deputy. In her position, she highlighted the possibility of an appeal and criticized rumors that there was already a scheduled date for delivery to the Brazilian authorities.
“Resources are still available and there is no scheduled date, as announced by people who support this regime. Some sources, including the press, say it could take another two years”, says Rita.
After the sentence, the defense has 15 days to appeal. The defense’s strategy, in fact, is to present two: one against the decision itself and the other against the decision that denied the judges’ suspicion. The request was presented verbally by Zambelli herself and transcribed with the help of translators. The former federal deputy said she had respect for judges, but claimed that she was insecure because she was persecuted in Brazil by the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes.
SEE ALSO:
- Italian court approves extradition of Zambelli
- Zambelli’s mother announces pre-candidacy for federal deputy
What does the sentence that authorized Zambelli’s extradition say?
A People’s Gazette had first-hand access to the sentence. Written by judge Aldo Morgigni and approved by judges Flavio Monteleone and Fabrizio Suriano, it recognizes the compatibility between the crimes for which Zambelli was convicted in Brazil – computer device hacking and ideological falsehood – and crimes provided for in Italian criminal law.
Morgigni also argues that the defense tried to establish in Italian justice the character of a “universal legitimacy standard”, which would be incompatible with the legal cooperation that the European country allows in criminal matters. As a result, they refused to consider the sentence imposed by the Supreme Court unfair.
To support the legitimacy of the STF, the decision cites the article of the Brazilian Constitution that establishes it and the criteria for appointment, in addition to citing the equivalence of the Brazilian privileged forum with the same prerogative attributed to Italian parliamentarians. With this, he concludes that “the STF’s competence to judge incumbent parliamentarians is, therefore, a constitutional power, and not the result of a discretionary choice by the Public Ministry or the Executive Branch.”
The judges understand that Moraes was not partial in Zambelli’s judgment, saying that the minister’s personal opinions “cannot influence the collegiate’s decision”.
“The statements cited by the defense, although reported in excerpts from the press, do not seem to indicate a preconceived belief in the defendant’s guilt, being based, rather, on the legal assessment of publicly available facts that the judge was institutionally obliged to examine”, he concludes.
In relation to the penitentiary conditions to which Zambelli would be subjected in the Federal District Women’s Penitentiary, known as “Hive”, the Court took into account the approval, in 2010, of the National Penitentiary Policy Plan, in addition to investments in the establishment funded by the National Penitentiary Fund and the institution of the National Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture (MNPCT).
Zambelli has Italian citizenship, which was considered an aid for him to remain in the country despite the extradition request. The Italian judges, however, understood that dual citizenship does not prevent cooperation in criminal matters.
