Former Red Brigades member flees house arrest in Argentina
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Al Jazeera
Leonardo Bertulazzi, 74, a former member of Italy’s Red Brigades, escaped house arrest in Argentina by climbing down from a fifth-floor flat with a rope and harness. He was due to be extradited to Italy to serve a 27-year sentence, according to Argentine police cited by Associated Press.
Leonardo Bertulazzi, a former Italian member of the Red Brigades, faces a 27-year prison sentence in Italy after being convicted in absentia of crimes linked to the kidnapping and death of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978. Argentine authorities launched a nationwide search after his escape on Tuesday, while he was under house arrest in Buenos Aires, according to police officials cited by the Associated Press.
Aged 74, Bertulazzi left a fifth-floor flat using a rope and harness, then reached the street by crossing the terraces of neighbouring buildings and a vacant lot. Police discovered that he had disabled the monitoring of his electronic bracelet by placing it in a device containing a thermal blanket as well as grease or animal fat, according to officials cited by the Associated Press.
Argentina’s Security Ministry is offering a reward of 20 million pesos, or about $13,000, for information leading to his arrest. His refugee status in Argentina had been revoked under the presidency of Javier Milei, and Argentine authorities had begun extradition proceedings to Italy.
