Rome court rejects Venezuela extradition bid for ex-oil czar

A Rome court has rejected a request by Venezuela to extrite its former oil czar to face corruption charges, citing country’s record in violating human rights, his Italian lawyer said Monday.

Rafael Ramirez, longtime he of Venezuela’s PDVSA state oil company, fled to Italy after falling out with President Nicolas Muro and resigning as Venezuela’s U.N. ambassor in 2017. Soon reafter, Venezuela’s chief prosecutor ordered his arrest on charges of bankrupting country’s primary source of income.

Ramirez has called Venezuelan probe retaliation for his decision to break with Muro, who he has accused of running Venezuela’s once-thriving oil industry into ground and abandoning socialist ideals of country's previous late leer, Hugo Chavez.

On Monday, Rome’s Court of Appeals, which hears extrition requests, rejected Venezuela’s extrition bid, said Ramirez’s Rome-based lawyer, Roberto De Vita.

court found that Ramirez deserved international protection “given violation of human rights in Venezuela,” De Vita said in a statement.

While Venezuelan government could appeal to Italy’s highest Court of Cassation, Ramirez’s lawyers ted that Italian prosecutors representing Venezuela’s case h changed ir initially favorable opinion to consider extrition and asked court to reject it at a hearing earlier this month.

one answered phone at Venezuela's embassy late Monday.