After being sentenced to nine years in prison for rape, the Italian Ministry of Justice has requested that Robinho be extradited from Brazil.
This follows the Court of Cassation in Rome’s rejection of his appeal against his rape conviction in January. The Rome court’s decision was a final sentence with no room for further appeals, and the term begin immediately.
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Robinho and his friend Ricardo Falco were found guilty and convicted in 2017 for raping a 22-year-old Albanian woman at Milan’s Sio Cafe nightclub in January 2013.
The Italian justice system requested the extradition of both Robinho and Ricardo from Brazil in February, and that request has now been officially sent, per Italian press agency Ansa and Brazilian outlet Globo.
The Brazilian constitution ‘frowns upon’ the extradition of Brazilians. However he could be arrested if he decides to leave the country. Brazil must now officially deal with the request.
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Following the decision, Jacopo Gnocchi, the prosecuting lawyer representing the victim, stated:
We have learned that the Milan Public Prosecutor has forwarded an extradition request to the Brazilian authorities, through the Ministry of Justice.
The problem, therefore, becomes one of a diplomatic and political nature. My client does not care if Robinho will serve the sentence in Italy or Brazil: the important thing is that justice is done until the end and that the sentence, now final, is respected.
Robinho has played for teams like Real Madrid, Manchester city, AC Milan and Santos to mention a few.