Italy’s justice minister has rejected Argentina’s request to extradite an Italian priest sought on suspicion of murder, kidnapping and torture during South America’s last military dictatorship.
ROME — Italy’s justice minister has ruled against the extradition of a former pastor wanted in Argentina on charges of murder and torture during South America’s last military dictatorship, human rights groups announced Friday.
In October, Italy’s highest criminal court approved the extradition of the Rev. Franco Rebelberg, an 86-year-old Italian priest who served as a military chaplain during Argentina’s military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.
However, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio cited the priest’s advanced age and poor health in his ruling against extradition. A copy of the ruling was made available by an advocacy group that has been following the case.
In Italy’s judicial system, the Minister of Justice either abides by the court’s decision regarding extradition or rejects it.
Jorge Iturburu, head of a human rights organization that has been following Argentina’s Lebberg investigation, said on March 24 that it would be up to Argentina’s new government to challenge the minister’s decision in Italy’s administrative tribunal.
The rights group takes its name from the 1976 U.S.-backed coup in Argentina that installed a military regime.
The Court of Cassation’s ruling in October upheld an earlier decision by a lower court in Bologna that allowed the extradition of the priest.
Argentina is seeking to try Rebelberg on charges including the murder of 22-year-old Jose Guillermo Veron in 1976 and the torture of several other men. The alleged torture took place in the town of San Rafael, near Mendoza, Argentina.
According to the Argentine government, Mr. Revberg was brought to Argentina in 2011 after his first trial for crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship took place in the western province of Mendoza, and testimonies from survivors and family members began to point to his culpability. I left the country.
Revberg immigrated to Argentina from Italy when he was about seven years old.
There were several twists and turns in the delivery bidding process.
Nordeo had initially approved the extradition in August. However, due to a clerical error, the minister was unaware of the priest’s appeal to Argentina’s request to be sent back to Argentina for trial when he initially granted the extradition. The appeal process thus continued, leading to the Court of Cassation’s judgment in October, giving Nordio a second chance to have the final say on the matter.
Ms Revberg had to sign in every day at the local police station in Solborough while her extradition was being considered. Solboro is a small town in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, where Mr. Levelberg was born and where he sometimes celebrated mass.
A public hearing is scheduled for next week to formally lift the priest’s signature requirement.
Advocates say as many as 30,000 people were killed or disappeared under Argentina’s military dictatorship.
Iturbulo said Veron’s relatives may ask Italian prosecutors to file charges against him, saying the Italian national is being investigated outside Argentina on charges including murder.
Argentina’s Catholic Church hierarchy has been widely criticized for being aligned with Argentina’s military junta, which has waged a campaign of illegally detaining and killing people it deems “subversive.”
When Pope St. John Paul II visited the country in 1987, critics believed that the pope had just arrived from Chile and had denounced the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. He lamented that he was unable to denounce the church’s support for .
During the current pontificate of Pope Francis, an Argentine, the Vatican and the bishops of the Pope’s home country aim to make available to victims and their relatives who have long accused church members of being co-conspirators. completed the cataloging of archives from the period of military dictatorship. military dictatorship.