A Palestinian terrorist linked to the October 1982 bombing of the main synagogue in Rome was sentenced here to two years’ imprisonment Friday, shortly after completing 19 months of a 20-month sentence for smuggling explosives into Greece.
Zomar Osana was convicted on charges of carrying an illegal weapon in jail while awaiting trial, attempting to escape and resisting a prison guard. But his sentence was seen by many here as another move by the government to avoid extraditing Osana to Italy where he would face possible life imprisonment if convicted of the synagogue attack which killed a two-year-old child.
His extradition was ordered by two appeals courts in 1984 and upheld by the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision. In March 1985, the Minister of Justice signed the extradition order. But three days later it was rescinded on grounds that Osana was under investigation for an attempted terrorist attack at Athens airport, not-withstanding that he was in jail at the time. A grand jury refused to indict him.
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