The request to revoke the man’s arrest came only days after Iran released an Italian journalist being held in Tehran.
Reporting from Rome
Italy’s justice minister has requested the revocation of the arrest of an Iranian man sought by the United States for allegedly providing material used in a drone attack that killed three American soldiers, the Italian government announced on Sunday.
Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, 38, was arrested last month in Milan and the U.S. Justice Department had asked for his extradition. He was charged with illegally providing material used in the attack by an Iranian-backed militia on a military base in Jordan.
On Sunday, the Italian Justice Ministry said it did not have the grounds to extradite him. Soon after the announcement, Iranian state media and Mr. Abedini’s lawyer said he was free, but the Italian government has not yet confirmed that.
The Italian ministry’s request for the arrest to be revoked came just days after Iran freed an Italian reporter, Cecilia Sala, who had been arrested in Iran three days after Mr. Abedini was detained. She was arrested on accusations of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, though the Iranian government never provided details.
While the Italian government never confirmed any connection between the two cases, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said last week that Ms. Sala’s release was the result of a diplomatic “triangulation” with the United States and Iran.
Shortly after Italy’s announcement, IRNA, Iran’s state news agency, said that the man “will return to his country in a few hours.”
In Sunday’s government statement, Italy’s Justice Ministry said that according to the extradition treaty between Italy and the United States, a person could be extradited only for crimes that are punished in both countries. Mr. Abedini’s case, they said, did not fit the criteria.
One of the crimes that he is accused of — conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws — is not punished in Italy, the ministry said.
Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting.
Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola
Source: www.nytimes.com