Italy’s Top Court Keeps Zambelli Jailed as Brazilian Lawmaker Begins Hunger Strike

Overview

• The Corte di Cassazione upheld Carla Zambelli’s closed-regime detention in Rome’s Rebibbia prison after the prosecutor opposed her bid for release to house arrest.
• Zambelli announced and began a hunger strike in a letter to Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, claiming political persecution after the court’s decision to keep her jailed.
• A court-appointed medical expert found her condition compatible with incarceration, countering the defense’s claims of serious psychiatric and neurological disorders.
• Brazil’s extradition request remains before the Rome Court of Appeal pending the Italian attorney general’s opinion, with any authorization still subject to a final administrative decision by Minister Nordio.
• Allies privately now see extradition as likely as Brazil’s AGU keeps its submissions under a five-year confidentiality rule, and her expired leave from the Chamber leaves her facing absences and a cassation bid that threatens her mandate.