World News | Italy's Justice Minister Seeks to Revoke Arrest of Iranian Based on US Warrant
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Italy's justice minister has asked an appeals court to revoke the arrest of an Iranian citizen wanted by the US over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago.
Rome, Jan 12 (AP) Italy's justice minister has asked an appeals court to revoke the arrest of an Iranian citizen wanted by the US over a drone attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago.
Mohammad Abedini is scheduled to appear at a Milan court on Wednesday in connection with his bid for house arrest pending the extradition process to the US
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He was arrested on a US warrant on December 16, three days before Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was detained while on a reporting trip to Iran.
Sala, who was believed held as a bargaining chip for Abedini's release, returned home last week, giving rise to speculation about Abedini's fate.
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An official note released by the Justice Ministry on Sunday said that under Italy-US extradition treaties, “only crimes that are punishable according to the laws of both sides can lead to extradition, a condition which, based on the state of documents, can't be considered as existing.”
The ministry said that the potential charge against Abedini — criminal association for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a US federal law — “did not correspond to any conduct recognised by Italian law as a crime.”
The US Justice Department has accused Abedini of supplying the drone technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 attack on a US outpost in Jordan that killed three American troops.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni described a “diplomatic triangulation” with Iran and the United States as being key to securing Sala's release, confirming for the first time that Washington's interests in the case entered into the negotiations.
Sala's release came after Meloni made a surprise trip to Florida to meet US President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)