In his first year in an Italian prison after more than 37 years on the run, Cesare Battisti has racked up defeats in court, admitted guilt for the first time, acknowledged that the armed struggle was a mistake and continues to devote himself to writing, which he adopted after giving up his weapons.

Imprisoned in a maximum-security prison on the island of Sardinia, Battisti, 65, does not have a bright future.

His Italian lawyer, Davide Steccanella, told Folha that he must wait "two or three years" before requesting a reversal of the life sentence. The defender does not hide that, for someone who has fled for so long, the chances are slim.

Condemned for four murders committed in the late 1970s, when he was an exponent of one of the many left-wing armed groups (including the right-wing) who rebelled against the state, he circumvented his country's justice from 1981 until 14 January. 2019, when he returned to prison after living in Mexico, France, and Brazil.

The epic ended in Bolivia, where he fled after a turnaround in his case, being arrested and sent to Italy by order of the Evo Morales government.