The Court of Appeal in Lyon, France, has rejected Italy's request to extradite Vincenzo Vecchi, who was sentenced in 2012 to 11 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of devastation and looting (non-existent across the Alps) in connection with the July 2001 protests against the G8 summit in Genoa. . "Despite having lived for a period with a false identity, for 13 years he has built relationships, family, works, participates in community activities - explain the judges - and these rights must be considered to be protected compared to a conviction for events that occurred back in 2001 that seems to all effects disproportionate". Maxime Tessier, the man's lawyer along with Catherine Glon, expressed "great relief and joy" on Twitter.
The attorney general's office has three days to appeal the decision. "In Lyon, democratic common sense and the spirit of the law prevailed. We are happy and proud of this", writes the Committee of support to Vecchi in a note, which also asks "solemnly the Public Prosecutor's Office not to appeal to the Court of Cassation, thus putting an end, in an elegant and dignified way, to this delirious affair".
"We remain cautious, we have already been burned. But it's still a relief for everyone. We have never been so close to the goal," said Jean-Pierre Guenanten, one of the members of the committee. A press conference with lawyers following the case has been announced for tomorrow.
The European arrest warrant was issued in 2016 and France followed it up in 2019. That year and the next, the courts of appeal of Rennes and Angers had already pronounced, denying extradition. The story, in recent years, has been followed with attention by several French media, more than it has been in Italy, often underlining how the crime of devastation and looting dates back to the Rocco code launched during the twenty years of fascism.
All the other demonstrators convicted for the events in Genoa have served their sentences and are now at large.