Should the request be denied, Me Mesli is likely to remain under house arrest in Aosta until the expiration of the 40-day period from the day of his arrest by which the Algerians authorities can submit a formal request for extradition, as provided under article 715(6) of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure. If the Italian justice does not receive any formal request by then, the case will be closed and Me Mesli will be set free.

"The fact that so far the Algerian authorities have not submitted any documents to the Italian justice demonstrates unsurprisingly that the arrest warrant is just an empty shell," says Mourad Dhina, Executive Director of the Alkarama Foundation. "We have full trust in the Italian justice which is respectful of the rule of law and have no doubt that the outcome will be in Me Mesli's favour."

As a reminder, Me Mesli was arrested at the Swiss-Italian border on Wednesday 19 August 2015 on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by the Algerian authorities in April 2002, which claims that he had "provided telephone information to terrorist groups movements," and "attempted to supply terrorist groups with cameras and phones," twisting his work as a human rights lawyer, in constant contact with victims of human rights abuses and their families. On Monday 25 August 2015, Me Mesli appeared before the Turin Court of Appeal, which ordered that he remained under house arrest until further notice.

For more information or an interview, please contact Alkarama's Media Coordinator, Colombe Vergès, on Dir: +41 22 734 1008 - Mob: +41 79 129 79 15 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).