An appeal court in Malta has denied Romania’s request for the extradition of Paul-Philippe of Romania.
Paul Lambrino is expected to serve a sentence of three years and four months in prison in a case of illegal property restitution of the Royal Farm in Baneasa, Romania.
He fled Romania before the sentence was pronounced, settling in France. In June 2022, he was caught in Paris, but a court of appeal refused to extradite him, on the grounds that there was a “real risk” that his fundamental rights would be violated in Romania.
At the end of April 2024, Paul travelled to Malta, where he was detained by the local authorities on information from the Romanian Police.
In July 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the French justice system did not act “correctly” in the case concerning the European arrest warrant for Paul-Philippe.
But the Malta court refused to execute the arrest warrant, citing a violation of Article 4 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (“Prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”) and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”).
Romania’s Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu on Monday called the decision outrageous and declared that it violates a decision of the Court of Justice of the EU. The Romanian government will provide a formal reaction.
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