by Alessia Peretti
Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio has blocked the extradition of Iranian national Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi in a case closely linked to the recent release of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala from detention in Tehran.
According to a statement released by the Justice Ministry on Sunday, Nordio filed a request with the Milan Court of Appeal to lift Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi’s pre-trial detention.
Abedini, arrested in Italy on 16 December at the request of the United States, was facing an extradition request from the US, which has now been annulled by the minister’s intervention.
Extradition is only allowed for offences punishable under the laws of both contracting parties, a condition which, based on the current evidence, cannot be deemed met, according to a ministry statement
US authorities have accused Abedini of being Tehran’s so-called "drone man". According to the charges, Abedini allegedly supplied Iran with drone components used in an attack on a Jordanian base last year that killed three US soldiers.
However, the news agency IRNA reported on Sunday that Tehran’s judiciary announced that Abedini will return to Iran within the next few hours.
Abedini’s case is closely linked to that of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested in Tehran on 19 December, just three days after Abedini, and released last Wednesday after 20 days in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
On 2 January, Iran’s ambassador to Italy, Mohammad Reza Sabouri, officially linked Sala’s case to that of Abedini after days of speculation in the Italian press about a possible link between the two arrests.
Italian and international media already speculated that during Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s recent meeting with former US President Donald Trump, Italy requested US cooperation in refusing Abedini’s extradition in exchange for Sala’s speedy return to Italy.
*first published in: Euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
