A court in Brazil has sentenced a former Italian extremist to two years in jail for having a forged passport.

Cesare Battisti, 54, has been in prison in Brazil since 2007. In Italy he has been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for his involvement in four murders carried out in the 1970s, when he was a member of a radical left-wing group.

Italy has been seeking his extradition for months. Brazil's Supreme Court authorised his hand-over in November but the final decision lies with President Luiz Inázio Lula da Silva. The latest court ruling could postpone his extradition for the time being.

A visit to Brazil by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi scheduled for 9 March has been postponed, possibly in connection with the campaign for local elections due at the end of the month. Observers suspect Mr Berlusconi, whose party is participating in the poll, does not want to get embroiled in the sensitive extradition request.