(versione italiana)

On August 25^th 1999 Silvia Baraldini was transferred from an American to a top security Italian jail under an outrageous agreement which violated the Constitution and the penal code of her native country thrusting the Rome Government in the role of executioner and enforcer of one of the most vindictive and unjust sentences ever inflicted by the US Judiciary. On October 16^th 2000 she had cancer surgery (the second time in ten years) in a Roman hospital: post-surgery treatment required a minimum of 6 to 8 months of radiation and chemotherapy. As no Italian jail can offer such a medical treatment, her lawyer asked for a suspended sentence or house arrests which would allow her to undergo the prescribed treatment in a public or private facility. On November 30^th 2000 a special penitentiary court in Rome rejected the request and referred the case to the High Constitutional Court: the motivations of the verdict constitute a devastating indictment of the Government and of the judiciary authorities in Italy. Both stand accused of having crassly violated art. 2-3-25-32 of the Constitution entering an agreement with the United States which denies Silvia Baraldini the most fundamental rights guaranteed to any other Italian citizen: equality in front of the law of the land, humanity of detention penalties, right to health care, ban on retroactive sentencing, access to penitentiary benefits extended to all detainees, etc, etc.

What now? In the worst of cases the Supreme Court could ignore the dramatic urgency of the case and take 3 months or more to pass its verdict. Or in a reasonably short time it could declare null and void the Italian – USA agreement and the obscure and contorted validation of such an agreement by a Roman court. Having spent ten years in the worst US lagers and one year and four months in an Italian jail for "political" crimes, which did not include acts of violence, murder or any blood letting, Silvia Baraldini has more than earned her right to freedom and to medical care under optimal conditions.