Rome court rejects Venezuela extradition bid for ex-oil czar

ROME – A Rome tribunal has rejected a petition by Venezuela to extradite its erstwhile lipid czar to look corruption charges, citing the country’s grounds successful violating quality rights, his Italian lawyer said Monday.

Rafael Ramirez, the longtime caput of Venezuela’s PDVSA authorities lipid company, fled to Italy aft falling retired with President Nicolas Maduro and resigning arsenic Venezuela’s U.N. ambassador successful 2017. Soon thereafter, Venezuela’s main authoritative ordered his apprehension connected charges of bankrupting the country’s superior root of income.

Ramirez has called the Venezuelan probe retaliation for his determination to interruption with Maduro, who helium has accused of moving Venezuela’s once-thriving lipid manufacture into the crushed and abandoning the socialist ideals of the country's erstwhile precocious leader, Hugo Chavez.

On Monday, Rome’s Court of Appeals, which hears extradition requests, rejected Venezuela’s extradition bid, said Ramirez’s Rome-based lawyer, Roberto De Vita.

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The tribunal recovered that Ramirez deserved planetary extortion “given the usurpation of quality rights successful Venezuela,” De Vita said successful a statement. Ramirez, a Venezuelan citizen, was fixed exile presumption successful Italy and his lawyers argued that helium faced governmental persecution if helium was sent back.

While the Venezuelan authorities could entreaty to Italy’s highest Court of Cassation, Ramirez’s lawyers noted that the Italian prosecutors representing Venezuela’s lawsuit had changed their initially favorable sentiment to see extradition and asked the tribunal to cull it astatine a proceeding earlier this month.

No 1 answered the telephone astatine Venezuela's embassy precocious Monday.

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