Reuters: Italy claims that the US has not yet requested the extradition of the arrested Iranian businessman
ROME (Reuters) – The United States has not made any formal request to extradite Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini, who is being held in Milan, Italy’s justice minister said in an interview published on Thursday.
“The Abedini case is purely legal … regardless of (the release of Italian journalist) Cecilia Sala. It is premature to talk about extradition, also because no official request has been sent to our ministry so far,” Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told La Stampa daily.
Abedini is wanted by the United States on suspicion of involvement in a drone attack on American forces in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement and said last week that detaining an Iranian national was tantamount to taking hostages.
His arrest is linked to the detention three days later of Italian reporter Cecilia Sala, who was arrested in Tehran on December 19 while working under a regular journalist’s visa and released on January 8.
