"Cruel treatment"

Italy will not extradite Palestinian to Israel

A prison in Italy(Bild: AFP)

An Italian appeals court refused on Wednesday to extradite a suspected Palestinian militant to Israel. He would face "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment", it said. The 36-year-old is said to have planned attacks together with at least three other Palestinians.

They were recently arrested in central Italy. Israel's judiciary accuses the accused of financing an armed group from the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank. Italy's judiciary in turn declared on Monday that the three arrested Palestinians had founded a cell that is in contact with the Al-Aqsa Brigades. This is also an armed group linked to the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel as well as the USA and the EU classify the group as a terrorist organization.

Violation of human rights?
Israel's judiciary requested that one of the detainees be extradited. However, his lawyer rejected this and presented the court with reports from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International on the conditions of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Three judges from the city of L'Aquila sided with the defense and said that the detainee was at risk of treatment that would violate his human rights.

They decided that the Palestinian should be detained in Italy, as the public prosecutor was already investigating him on the same charges. The two other defendants did not appear in court because Israel's judiciary had not requested their extradition. It repeatedly stated that detainees would be treated in accordance with international law.