Berlusconi pushes Brazil to extradite Cesare Battisti

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday Italy would leave no stone unturned to get Brazil to extradite guerrilla Cesare Battisti but he did not want to endanger "excellent" relations with the South American country.

Mr Battisti, 54, was jailed for murder in Italy in the 1970s when he was a member of the leftist group "Armed Proletarians for Communism." He escaped in 1981 and fled to France, but went on the run again when Paris approved his extradition in 2006 and was caught in Brazil.

Brazil's decision this month to give the Italian political refugee status sparked diplomatic protests from Italy, which calls him a "terrorist". Mr Battisti was convicted of two murders before his jailbreak and faced two more murder charges.

Mr Berlusconi said the case must not harm relations with Brazil but added: "The matter must be taken forward in the proper arena -the courts - where Italy will leave no stone unturned in its attempts to get Battisti extradited to our country."

He said he was "hopeful of the success" of Italy's appeal to Brazil's supreme court, which will rule on the case.

Some Italian politicians want stronger protests such as the cancellation of a soccer match against Brazil in London on February 10, but Rome says it has no intention of calling off the match.

The case has also embroiled French first lady Carla Bruni, who was accused by an Italian victims' association of somehow influencing the decision during a visit to Brazil in December.

The Italian-born wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy went on Italian television on Sunday to deny this. She was criticised in Italy last year for supporting an Italian guerrilla in exile in France, whose extradition to Italy was rejected by Paris.