PARIS, Sept 14: French rights organizations and leading intellectuals are protesting France’s decision to allow the extradition of political dissidents back to Italy in spite of a rule according to which France would not send back to Italy extreme leftwing political activists - many of them suspected of belonging to the Red Brigades terrorist organisation - who had chosen to remake their lives peacefully in France and openly repudiate their activist past.

The decision to abrogate the 17-year old rule - referred to as the “Multterrand doctrine” _ came to light earlier this month when France announced the decision to send back to Italy Paolo Persichetti, a leading Italian intellectual who lived openly in France as a university professor at the University of Paris, although an Italian court had years ago found him guilty of terrorist activities.

Mr Persichetti had let it be known in recent years that he’d chosen to renege on his activist past and forewore taking part in political activity while on French soil.

“When one has given his word,” lashed out Michel Tubiana, president of the Ligue des droits de l’homme, a leading French human rights organizations, “then it must be respected.” Virtually the same words were used by several hundred leading French intellectuals - among them pubblishers and novelists such as Jean Vautrin, Daniel Pennac, Francois Guerif and Didier Daeninckx who said in a petition that if nothing were done to stop the practice, then “it risks being nothing less than a prelude to another series of extranditions.”

Their fear has proved to be a reality, for sources in the French justice ministry have indicated that Justice Minister Dominique Perben has received a list of more than thirty names of other suspected Italian terrorists - for example Oreste Scalzone, Giovanni Alimonti and Giorgio Pietrostefani - whose extradition back to Italy is being actively sought by Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli who has revealed the existence of a joint Franco-Italian commission.