Carla Zambelli returns to prison after her third custody hearing and awaits a decision from the Italian court.

247 - Federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PL) faced her third hearing before the Italian Justice system this Wednesday (27), but returned to prison without a definition about her future. According to MetropolisThe Rome Court of Appeals has not yet decided whether she will remain in custody or be allowed to respond to the extradition proceedings requested by Brazil while she is released.

After being heard, Zambelli was returned to the Rebibbia Penitentiary Institute, where she has been since July 29, when she was arrested in Italy after nearly a month on the run from Brazilian justice. The court's decision will be made confidentially and communicated to the defense, possibly later today.

The congresswoman arrived handcuffed at the 4th Criminal Section of the Court of Appeals, wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Present were her husband, Aginaldo de Oliveira, her brother Bruno, as well as her lawyer Fabio Pagnozzi and four Italian defense attorneys. One of the lawyers, Angelo Alessandro Sammarco, stated that his client is “dejected, but combative.”

In this session, the court analyzed the report from the official medical examination conducted on August 18th. The defense also requested that Zambelli await the extradition proceedings while at liberty, further presenting a parallel psychiatric report prepared by experts hired by the congresswoman herself. The document, nearly 90 pages long, cites health problems such as fibromyalgia, a heart condition, and severe symptoms of depression.

On August 13, during the previous hearing, Zambelli fell ill and required emergency medical attention inside the courthouse. Her family claims that the congresswoman suffers from more than ten illnesses, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and that she does not have access to all her medications in the Italian prison.

On August 22, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) sentenced the congresswoman to five years and three months in prison under a semi-open regime, in addition to the loss of her mandate. The decision, by a vote of 9 to 2, was based on the crimes of illegal possession of a firearm and unlawful coercion, after she pursued, armed, journalist Luan Araújo, a supporter of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), in October 2022, in São Paulo.

This was not Zambelli's first conviction. In a previous trial, the First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) sentenced her to 10 years and eight months in prison for her participation in the hacking of the National Council of Justice's (CNJ) systems in 2023, when false documents were inserted into the platform.