After years on the run, 7 Italian leftist militants arrested in France

Italy has long sought the extradition of dozens of extreme-leftist militants, who were given refuge in France on condition they renounced violence following the so-called Years of Lead from the late 1960s to the 1980s, which left hundreds dead. Italian police said they helped their French counterparts to locate the fugitives.

Seven Italians, on the run since their conviction in Italy on terrorism charges linked to far-left militant groups, have been arrested in France, the French presidency said on Wednesday.

A search was underway for three other Italians, the presidency added in a statement. Italy has long sought the extradition of dozens of extreme-leftist militants, who were given refuge in France on condition they renounced violence following the so-called Years of Lead from the late 1960s to the 1980s, which left hundreds dead.

Italian police said they helped their French counterparts to locate the fugitives. Those captured, the police said, included Giorgio Pietrostefani, a co-founder of the Lotta Continua group who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the 1972 murder of Milan police commissioner Luigi Calabresi.

The other six were all members of the Red Brigades, including Marina Petrella, Roberta Cappelli, and Sergio Tornaghi, who were all sentenced to life in prison for taking part in murders and kidnappings. Hundreds of people were murdered in bombings, assassinations, and street warfare by rival far-right and far-left militant factions during a period of social and political turmoil.

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