A Maltese-Australian man wanted in Lithuanian for forgery and swindling is challenging his extradition order, saying that detention conditions in this Baltic State have been repeatedly flagged for human rights breaches.
The appeal by 44-year-old company director Angelo Spiteri was filed in the wake of a decision by a Magistrates’ Court, which on January 15 acceded to a European arrest warrant issued last summer. The director of the Vilnius-registered travel company Atostogu Sandelis is facing four charges and if found guilty could spend a total of 17 years in prison.
The man is insisting that the first court ignored the fact that Lithuanian prisons had the “universally acclaimed worst, inhuman and illegal conditions” across all EU member states. He adds that nothing has improved since the Soviet era, backing his claims with a series of judgments handed down by the European Court of Human Rights.
The man referred to two “stinging judgments” by the ECHR against Lithuania as recently as last month for having breached Article 3 of the Human Rights Convention, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Prison regime is the textbook case of what it should not be
Lithuania’s prison regime is the textbook case of what it should not be, the wanted man said in his application to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Concern for human rights breaches had already been raised before the first court, but a request from the defence to seek a preliminary judgment from the European Court of Justice was turned down. In his appeal the man argued that, unlike Malta, such requests for clarification in other European courts were nothing out of the ordinary.
The appellant is also challenging the extradition order on three other counts, claiming that some of the alleged offences were time-barred and the arrest warrant contained mistakes.
Mr Spiteri, together with two other directors – Nerijus Ereminas and Guy Jane – is accused of authorising company employees to accept money in return for accommodation services, which in reality were never offered. The alleged fraud was committed between 2010 and 2011.
Lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Patrick Val-entino signed the application.