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Leonardo Bertulazzi escaped house arrest in Argentina while awaiting extradition to Italy.
The 74-year-old former Red Brigades member escaped in Buenos Aires and remained at large as authorities launched a search and offered a reward. Authorities said he tampered with his ankle monitor; reports differ on how he escaped and what the monitor showed.
What the reports agree on
- Bertulazzi was 74 and escaped house arrest in Argentina while awaiting extradition to Italy. BBC World, Guardian World, Al Jazeera
- He was a former member of Italy’s Red Brigades. Guardian World, Al Jazeera
- Argentina arrested him in 2002 and granted him refugee status in 2004. BBC World, Guardian World
- Argentina arrested him again in 2024 after revoking his refugee status. Guardian World, Al Jazeera
- Authorities said he tampered with his ankle monitor, and police later found it discarded. BBC World, Guardian World, Al Jazeera
- Argentina offered a reward of about $13,000 for information leading to his capture. Guardian World, Al Jazeera
Where reports differ
- BBC World reported that Bertulazzi escaped by abseiling from a fifth-floor balcony. Guardian World said authorities had not confirmed reports that he used a harness to escape from a fifth-floor balcony. Al Jazeera reported that police said he climbed from a fifth-floor apartment using a harness and rope. BBC World
- Guardian World reported that police went to his residence after the ankle monitor stopped transmitting movement data. BBC World said officials grew suspicious because the monitor appeared to remain stationary, while Al Jazeera said tampering with it delayed the discovery of his escape. Guardian World
- BBC World reported that Bertulazzi was sentenced in absentia over the 1977 kidnapping of naval engineer Pietro Costa. Guardian World and Al Jazeera described an Italian sentence of 27 years for other or broader crimes, including joining a subversive association and an armed group or terrorism-related crimes. BBC World
Reported by one outlet
- BBC World reported that Pietro Costa was held for 81 days by members of the Red Brigades. BBC World
- Guardian World reported that the Red Brigades kidnapped and killed former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro in 1978. Guardian World
- Al Jazeera reported that Bertulazzi crossed neighbouring terraces and a vacant lot before climbing over a gate to reach the street. Al Jazeera