An Italian waiter accused of deliberately infecting his girlfriend with HIV will be extradited back to Scotland to face criminal charges

Alan McEwen:

Giovanni Mola, 36, jumped bail and fled back to Italy after being charged with culpable and reckless conduct and endangering the health and life of the woman.

Mola was believed to have arrived in Edinburgh early in 1999 to escape a prison term in his native country and lived in the city for five years.

Now the authorities in Italy have granted an extradition warrant to allow Mola to come to trial.

But he will not arrive back in the Capital for another year as he is serving a prison sentence for burglary in his homeland.

The Crown Office today confirmed he will be flown back to Scotland for trial upon his release in January next year from Taranto jail in southern Italy.

Mola was working as a waiter in an Italian restaurant in Edinburgh when he was charged with infecting his girlfriend, whom he dated between September 2003 and February 2004.

He allegedly failed to inform the woman, known only as Miss X, that he had the HIV virus, and repeatedly refused to use a condom when the couple had sex at an address in Tollcross. As a result, she was infected with HIV and hepatitis C.

The woman is believed to have been sexually inexperienced and Mola was her first long-term boyfriend.

A spokeswoman for the Crown Office said: "Giovanni Mola will face charges in Scotland. There was a hearing last week and extradition was granted but it will not be enforced until he finishes his sentence in Italy. That is expected to be around January 2007."

Police were also concerned after Mola allegedly boasted to Miss X that he had slept with more than 100 women.

In addition, he faces a charge of breaching bail by moving out of his home in Crewe Place, Edinburgh, without permission.

Mola was due to appear at the High Court in Edinburgh in April last year, but a judge was told he was serving a jail term in Italy. He had jumped bail and fled the country, but was captured by Italian detectives in January last year.

He was given a 26-month sentence for offences committed before he came to Scotland.

A second woman also came forward last year to reveal she had sex with Mola. The 44-year-old Spanish woman, known only as Ms Y, said they had a two-month relationship after meeting him in one of the Latin American clubs he frequented in the city.

Ms Y knew he was also seeing an Australian girl living in Edinburgh. She said Mola had a brief relationship with a Latin American tourist who was passing through the Capital.

Ms Y tested negative for HIV, hepatitis C and sexually-transmitted diseases but faced further tests.

A good reason why all people entering a country should be screened for deadly diseases such as HIV.