Argentina arrests two accomplices in escape of Bertulazzi, former Genoese Red Brigades member
Argentine police have detained two people suspected of aiding the escape from house arrest of Leonardo Bertulazzi, a former Genoese Red Brigades activist held in precautionary custody in Buenos Aires.
Arrests in escape of former Red Brigades activist
According to La Repubblica, Argentine police have arrested two people identified as possible accomplices in the escape from house arrest of Leonardo Bertulazzi. They are a Uruguayan citizen and a woman of Salvadoran nationality, identified through a report from the immigration office.
The two were part of a group chat with 17 other people, discovered through analysis of Bertulazzi's electronic devices. In the group, the fugitive used a false identity.
Bertulazzi, 74 years old, is a former member of the Genoese wing of the Red Brigades. Sentenced to 27 years of imprisonment for various offences, including the kidnapping of shipowner Pietro Costa in 1977, he had obtained refugee status in Argentina in 2002. This status was revoked in 2024 and extradition to Italy was imminent.
To escape repatriation, he abseiled from the balcony of his apartment in central Buenos Aires using a harness after removing the electronic ankle bracelet. He had attempted an appeal against extradition on health grounds, but the court rejected it.
Argentine authorities launched a vast search operation throughout the country and the Interior Ministry offered a reward of 20 million pesos (approximately 11,000 euros) for information useful to his location. An arrest warrant was issued by a judge of the Supreme Court.
Source: la Repubblica