Two former far-left activists, convicted of terrorism in Italy, surrendered Thursday April 29 to justice in France, where seven other Italians had been arrested the day before.

The Élysée had given a historic green light to the launch of their extradition procedures.

Luigi Bergamin, former member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism, aged 72, and Raffaele Ventura, former member of the Communist Combatant Formations, 71, presented themselves successively, Thursday morning, to the Paris Court of Appeal, accompanied of their lawyers, according to judicial sources close to the case.

A tenth Italian, also claimed by Italy, Maurizio Di Marzio, remained at large on Thursday.

The validity of the warrant issued against him by the Italian justice expires in mid-May, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The validity of pending extradition requests

Nine of these former Red Brigades activists, now in their sixties or seventies, have been served with Italian arrest warrants by magistrates from the Paris Court of Appeal. 

Among them is the ex-brigadist Marina Petrella, 66, whose president Nicolas Sarkozy had refused in 2008 the extradition authorized by the French justice.

The court of appeal must immediately rule on their status - freedom under judicial supervision or imprisonment - while the courts examine the validity of the Italian extradition requests, a procedure which should take at least several months.

These former activists, including six former members of the Red Brigades, took refuge in France in the 1980s, where they rebuilt their lives while Italy condemned them for blood crimes committed in the 1970s and 1980s, say " the years of lead ". 

Several deny being involved in the murders of policemen, industrialists or gendarmerie officers for which they have been convicted.

More than 30 years later, President Emmanuel Macron has, in a historic turn, decided to settle this dispute by promoting the execution of extradition requests recently renewed by Italy.

With AFP

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