Italy's Court of Cassation rejected Brazil's first extradition request for former congresswoman Carla Zambelli on Friday night (22). The ruling annulled a prior sentence and allowed her release after nearly ten months in prison.
The ruling came after a hearing held on Friday morning. The court accepted the defense appeal and annulled the March sentence from the Court of Appeal that had authorized Zambelli's handover to serve a ten-year term for hacking the CNJ system and issuing a false arrest warrant against minister Alexandre de Moraes.
With the annulment the request ended and Brazil has no right of appeal. Zambelli left prison and spent her first night in Rome at her husband Colonel Aginaldo's lodging.
Brazilian ambassador to Italy Renato Mosca said the country awaits the publication of the court's reasoning in the coming days. "It is a decision of the Italian justice system and it is not up to us to judge it," he said.
Eduardo Bolsonaro celebrated the release in a video and called the outcome another defeat for Moraes. A second extradition request, concerning illegal firearm possession, is still due to be judged by the Court of Cassation in about 30 days.
