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Sunday, Mar 04, 2007
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How Quattrocchi got bail in Argentina

Vaiju Naravane

Efforts of Italian diplomats swung it

Missiones appellate court's order in Spanish

Posadas (MISSIONES): It was in this somewhat sleepy provincial capital that Ottavio Quattrocchi's appeal against a court decision to refuse him bail was heard on February 23. Appellate judges Mario Osvaido Boldu and Ana Minconi of the Camera Federal de Apelaciones de Posadas, Missiones overturned Judge Mariana Arjol's February 14 decision to refuse bail.

Pressure from the Italian Government was clearly responsible for the conditional release of Ottavio Quattrocchi, a key accused in the Bofors kickbacks case.

Mr. Quattrocchi's appeal to obtain bail goes under the following description:``Expte. No 9703/07 Quattrocchi, Ottavio s/ Recusro de Apelacion en Excpte. No 581-1/07 - Defensor Oficial Racagni, Pedro'' — Pedro Racagni being his court-appointed lawyer. The document is dated February 23, 2007.

The two appellate judges Mario Osvaido Boldu and Ana Minconi made the following observations in ordering the release of Mr. Quattrocchi:

That under Argentina's penal code detention could not be either arbitrary or unreasonable and in this case keeping Mr. Quattrocchi in preventive detention would be unreasonable since it did not have a sound basis.

That Mr. Quattrocchi was 68 and in a fragile state of health and that the Argentine state is required to guarantee the detenu's state of health in keeping with its own laws and international norms and agreements.

Referring to the possibility that Mr. Quattrocchi would flee or evade justice, the verdict cites a letter from the Italian Ambassador, Stefano Ronca, and the presence of the Italian Consul General from the city of Rosario Claudio Miscia, as a guarantee against such an eventuality.

Finally, the judges state that they also took into consideration the opinion of the prosecutor in the case; he was not opposed to Mr. Quattrocchi's conditional release.

The two appellate judges then referred their decision to grant bail back to the lower court in El Dorado where Mr. Quattrocchi was first produced and called on Judge Mariana Arjol who had earlier refused bail to execute their sentence. Judge Arjol then impounded Mr. Quattrocchi's passport, fixed bail at $10000 and ordered the detenu not to leave the country. She also ordered him to keep the court informed on his whereabouts. Mr. Quattrocchi gave the court a Buenos Aires address.

When this correspondent tried to contact Mr. Ronca, his secretary said: ``We are not Ottavio Quattrocchi's press office.''

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