(ANSA) - Italian police are working to help judges accelerate procedures leading to the extradition of London bomber Hamdi Issac to Britain, the interior
ministry said on Tuesday.
The police are providing judicial authorities with all the information they need to be able to rapidly assess the position of the Ethiopian-born Hamdi, also known as Osman Hussain, officials said.
But Rome anti-terrorism prosecutors, who are trying to establish whether Hamdi's contacts in Italy amounted to a logistics operation supporting terrorists, said he would have to stay in Rome for the course of their probe. Chief prosecutor Franco Ionta said his team was obliged by law to pursue its investigations from the moment they became aware that the bomber may have committed terrorist
crimes in Italy too.
This meant that the chief suspect had to remain in their custody, he indicated. "We will give British authorities our full collaboration," he added, referring to the possibility that British investigators could send them a written request for information on Hamdi's statements.
According to British daily The Times, Scotland Yard is getting increasingly concerned and irritated that procedural problems in Italy could delay his extradition to the UK. Italian dailies speculated on Tuesday that the court decision on the extradition may be delayed until September. British detectives flew to Rome shortly after Hamdi's arrest on Friday but have still not been allowed to question
him, The Times said.
Hamdi is talking freely to Italian police about the failed July 21 attacks in London but British officers are anxious to have their own information as they question the four main suspects held in Britain.
In the next few days, judges in Rome are expected to set the date for the hearing to decide on the extradition request. Britain wants to extradite Hamdi as soon as possible under a new European arrest warrant. The European warrant, which recently came into effect, provides a means to fast-track extraditions within 90 days. Previously, they could take years.
Scotland Yard reportedly had hoped that Italy might simply deport Hussain as an illegal immigrant, since he arrived in the country with false papers. The extradition process has been further complicated by Rome appeals court judge Domenico Micelli, who said the request filed by Britain was incomplete. The remaining documents must reach Rome by a Sunday deadline, he added.
The suspected terrorist's court-appointed lawyer said Hamdi will probably oppose extradition. Should the appeals court grant the extradition, Hamdi Issac will then have 20 days to appeal to the Court of
Cassation, Italy's supreme court.
