Attempts to extradite a London bomb suspect arrested in Rome last week could prove a key test of how effectively a new European arrest warrant works in practice in high-profile terrorism investigations. EU officials say a successful handover of Hamdi Issac, one of four men believed to be behind the July 21 attempted bombings in London, will depend on the decisions taken in the coming weeks by Italian judges and prosecutors.

?It all depends on how the warrant is formulated and what charges the Italians decide to go ahead with,? one Brussels official said. He acknowledged that failure to extradite Issac, who was born in Ethiopian and who obtained fake Somali documents and British citizenship, to Britain would be a severe setback for the EU warrant in the wake of a ruling by Germany?s constitutional court last month that the measure was wrongly implemented by Berlin.

That decision allowed a suspected al Qaeda financier, Mamoun Darkazanli, a German national, to walk free instead of being sent to Spain, which wanted to try him on terrorism charges. Under the EU warrant ? agreed after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States to replace extradition procedures that often lasted years ? the handover of Issac should take a maximum 100 days from July 29, when he was arrested in Rome.

But defence lawyer Antonietta Sonnessa has said Issac, also known as Osman Hussain, may be able to avoid extradition due to proceedings against him in Italy.

According to the rules, Italy may refuse extradition if Issac is prosecuted by Italian magistrates for the same act as the one for which London police are seeking him. He is now under preventive arrest in Rome on accusations of international terrorism and false documents.

Italian trial?

Sonnessa said this could soon lead to formal charges and a trial in Italy, which she said would legally preclude extradition. The lawyer said her client had told Italian police that he took part in the July 21 attempted bombings in London.

Italian police has said they do not believe Issac is part of a broad Islamic militant network, adding that he fled to friends and family in Italy after the July 21 attacks. Those bombings followed blasts on July 7 that killed four bombers and 52 other people, also on underground trains and a bus.

An Italian woman was among the dead that day, giving Italian prosecutors firm ground to try Issac in Italy if they can prove he was somehow tied to the other bombers.If Issac is prosecuted in Italy for acts other than the one he is wanted for in Britain, the rules allow judges deciding on his extradition to defer the handover until he has been tried.

But the warrant also gives them the possibility of handing over Issac temporarily to Britain under terms to be agreed by judicial authorities in Rome and London. ?Even though the Italians are considering prosecution, they can still use the European arrest warrant to surrender that person to the UK. The UK will then carry out their side of the affair,? another EU justice official said.The handover of Issac would be the first extradition of a high-profile suspect from Italy using the EU warrant.

Marie-Louise MOLLER