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Timeline: how Cesare Battisti fled Italian justice for almost four decades

Italian former leftist militant Cesare Battisti, wanted in his country for four murders in the 1970s, has been arrested in Bolivia and extradited home after years on the run. Here are the key dates in the saga up to his arrest and extradition.

Published: 14 January 2019 13:34 CET
Timeline: how Cesare Battisti fled Italian justice for almost four decades
Cesare Battisti after being released from jail in Brazil in 2011. Photo: Evaristo SA/AFP

Arrest in Italy

In June 1979 Battisti, a member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism, is arrested in Milan as part of an investigation into the murder of a jeweller in the city. He is sentenced in May 1981 to 12 years and 10 months in prison for being a member of an armed group and receiving weapons.

In October the same year he escapes from prison near Rome and flees, first to France and then to Mexico in 1982.

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Novelist in France

In 1985 France's socialist president Francois Mitterrand pledges not to extradite former far-left Italian militants who have turned their back on their past.

Battisti returns to France in 1990 and embarks on a writing career, penning a string of noir novels. In 1991, France rejects an Italian extradition request.


Signing books in Paris in March 2004, shortly before his arrest. Photo: Jean-Loup Gautreau/AFP

On March 31st, 1993, Milan's appeals court convicts Battisti in absentia of killing two Italian policemen, taking part in the murder of a butcher, and having helped plan the slaying of the Milan jeweller who died in a shootout which left his 14-year-old son in a wheelchair.

Italy submits another extradition request in 2002. Two years later, in February, Battisti is arrested in Paris and then released under legal supervision the next month. In June, France says it supports his extradition.

In October 2004 his appeal is rejected, and he flees to Brazil.

Brazilian refuge

Battisti is arrested in Rio de Janeiro on March 18th, 2007, and jailed in Brasilia. Italy again calls for his extradition. But Brazil grants Battisti political asylum on January 14th, 2009.

On November 18 Brazil's Supreme Court authorizes Battisti's extradition but leaves the final decision to the leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who rejects it on December 31st, 2010.

In a letter to the Brazilian parliament in February 2011 Battisti, who is in jail awaiting a new decision from the Supreme Court, denies ever harming or killing another human being.


Battisti at home in Rio di Janiero in 2012. Photo: Christophe Simon/AFP

On June 8th, 2011, Brazil's Supreme Court confirms Lula's decision to refuse the extradition request and Battisti is released.

Italy announces it will make a plea to the International Court of Justice while Brazil grants Battisti a permanent residence permit.

Spectre of extradition

In March 2015 a Brazilian federal judge orders Battisti's extradition either to Mexico or France.

In October 2017 he is placed in preventative detention after he is picked up at the border with Bolivia while trying to leave Brazil. He is quickly freed and returns to Sao Paulo. For the first four months of 2018 he is placed under electronic surveillance.


Battisti at home in Brazil after his 2017 arrest. Photo: Miguel Schincariol/AFP

During Brazil's presidential campaign, far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro vows to “immediately” extradite Battisti to Italy if elected.

In mid-December Brazil's outgoing president signs an extradition order for Battisti after a judge orders his arrest. By then the Italian was nowhere to be found.

Arrest in Bolivia

Battisti is arrested in Bolivia late on January 12th “and will be soon brought to Brazil, from where he will probably be sent to Italy to serve a life sentence,” tweeted Filipe G. Martins, a senior aide on international affairs to Bolsonaro, who took office on January 1st.

Battisti, 64, is arrested in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Brazilian Federal Police sources tell Brazilian media.


Battisti shortly after his arrest in Bolivia. Photo: Bolivian Police/AFP

“Battisti has been arrested! Democracy is stronger than terrorism!” Italy's ambassador to Brazil Antonio Bernardini tweeted.

Extradited back home

After his arrest, Italy swiftly sends a plane carrying police and secret service agents to Bolivia to bring him back. A day later, an Italian-flagged Falcon 900 plane carrying Battisti lands at Rome's Ciampino airport.

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede are waiting at the airport for his arrival.

Battisti, not wearing handcuffs, is escorted off the plane by a dozen policemen and faces life behind bars. 

Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP
 

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CRIME

REVEALED: Where in Italy you’re most likely to be a victim of crime

From theft and home burglary to cyber fraud and extortion, the latest figures reveal where in Italy you are most likely to fall victim to crime and the most common types of offences in major cities around the country.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:15 CEST
REVEALED: Where in Italy you're most likely to be a victim of crime

While Italy is among the safest countries in the world – it ranked 33rd out of 163 in the latest Global Peace Index report, right above the UK – crime is still a concern, especially in metropolitan cities and tourist hotspots.

According to the annual crime report from newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, which collated the most recent data from Italy’s Department of Public Security, Milan was the Italian city with the highest crime rate in 2023.

Overall, some 230,394 crimes were reported in the northern metropolis last year, which corresponded to 7,094 offences for every 100,000 residents.

Milan was followed by Italy’s capital, Rome, with 6,071 reported crimes for every 100,000 residents (up by nearly 600 compared to 2022) and Florence, with 6,053.

The top ten was completed by Rimini (6,002 reports for every 100,000 residents), Turin (5,685), Bologna (5,539), Prato (4,887), Imperia (4,838), Venice (4,825) and Livorno (4,743).

At the other end of the spectrum, Oristano, Sardinia, was the Italian city with the lowest crime rate in 2023 as it ‘only’ saw 1,511 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

Oristano was followed by Potenza, Basilicata (1,934) and Treviso, Veneto (2,258).

Single-offence rankings

While the overall crime rate ranking provides a picture of Italy’s major crime hotspots, it doesn’t allow for any insight into the types of offences committed locally, which is why it is worth looking into single-offence rankings. 

Milan, Rome and Rimini (a popular seaside resort on Emilia Romagna’s Adriatic coast) were the Italian cities with the highest theft rates in 2023, with the northern city registering nearly 3,900 reported thefts (furti) for every 100,000 residents and the capital stopping just shy of the 3,500 mark.

Milan was also Italy’s least-safe city when it came to petty theft and pickpocketing, with over 900 such offences reported for every 100,000 residents.

READ ALSO: How bad is pickpocketing in Italy’s major cities?

Florence was the Italian city with the highest robbery rate (rapine), with 136 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

The Tuscan city was followed by Milan (128) and Prato (124).

Outside of big cities and popular tourist destinations, a number of smaller and, perhaps, slightly unassuming Italian cities had their own crime ‘specialisations’ in 2023. 

For instance, Ragusa, Sicily, ranked first in vehicle theft, while Pisa, Tuscany, came in first in reported home burglary offences.

Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, had the highest sexual assault rate (24 reports for every 100,000 residents) in the country, whereas Crotone ranked first for attempted murder.

READ ALSO: The 8 red flags to look out for to avoid rental scams in Italy

Turin came in first for cyber fraud and online scams, while Isernia, Molise, was Italy’s extortion capital. 

National picture

At a national level, reported crimes were up by 3.8 percent compared to 2022, with online fraud and robbery registering 10.3- and 9.5-percent increases respectively. 

Assault offences also registered a 3.1-percent year-on-year increase, while there were 341 murders in 2023 – up by 13 against 2019. 

According to Marco Dugato, a researcher at the Crime Observatory of Milan’s Cattolica University, the latest increases “must be monitored, particularly for certain types of crime”.

In particular, “the rise of more impulsive, less planned, but more aggressive forms of criminal activity” such as assault and robbery “is of concern”. 

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