On Monday, September 20, 2021, the Court of Appeals of Rome published the final decision issued on September 14, 2021, in which it REJECTED the extradition request filed by the Government of Nicolás Maduro against Rafael Ramírez, who served for more than ten consecutive years as Minister of Petroleum and President of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), during the government of President Hugo Chávez.
The sentence follows a hearing held on Wednesday, September 14, at the Court of Appeals of Rome, where the defence attorney, Dr Roberto De Vita, presented extensive documentation refuting Maduro’s government false arguments.
At the same hearing, the Attorney General expressly requested the Court to reject the extradition request through a definitive sentence, modifying the previous opinion of the agency, which was widely disseminated by the propaganda media of Nicolás Maduro’s government.
The Court based its decision on the refugee status of Rafael Ramirez, issued by the Ministry of the Interior of the Italian Republic, which recognizes the need for his international protection due to the current Human Rights violation in Venezuela, following the provisions of the Geneva Convention of July 28, 1951. The decision is a final judgment and cannot be appealed.
This decision comes simultaneously with the second report from the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (IIFFM) of the United Nations Human Rights Council on September 16. In the abovementioned document, the IIFFM denounces the complicit role of the Judiciary Branch and the Attorney General’s Office of Venezuela in perpetuating human rights violations that establish the commission of crimes against humanity.
PRESS-RELEASE-ENGLISH-RR