Zambelli to remain in custody in Italy; congresswoman falls ill during hearing

Carla Zambelli, a federal congresswoman from Brazil, was heard in the Court of Appeal of Rome on Wednesday (8/13) and fell ill during the hearing, but chose to continue with the process. She was attended by a court paramedic. At the end of the hearing, Judge Michele Monteleone authorized an urgent medical examination by August 22. Zambelli, who reportedly suffers from more than 10 medical conditions, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, has been deprived of her medications in prison.

Wearing jeans, Zambelli appeared ‘weary and quite thin,’ according to the correspondent of Metrópoles in Italy, Cinthia Rodrigues. The congresswoman’s lawyer requested closer monitoring by the prison doctor. Zambelli also became emotional during the hearing and blew a kiss to her father, João Hélio, who is following the process in Italy. The Italian lawyer Alessandro Gentiloni, representing the Brazilian Attorney General’s Office (AGU), is attending the hearing, at the request of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

A new hearing has been scheduled for August 27. Carla Zambelli remains in custody at the Rebibbia Penitentiary Institute on the outskirts of Rome, where she is expected to stay until the extradition process requested by the Brazilian government is completed. Currently, she is detained in the Rebibbia Penitentiary Institute, where all necessary measures are being taken to address Brazil’s extradition request. Zambelli had been on the run since the end of May when she was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Supreme Court in the case of the hacking invasion of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) system.