By Timo Kirez
GENEVA (AA) – A German court refused to extradite an Albanian man to the UK because of concerns about prison conditions in Britain.
The Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court’s (OLG) decision was made earlier this year, but became public only in August. Jan-Carl Janssen, a lawyer who represented the Albanian in court, told the German journal Legal Tribune Online (LTO) that it is the first such decision in Germany.
The case decided by the court involved an Albanian man who lived in the UK. The police accused him of large-scale drug trafficking, involving 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of cocaine. He was also alleged to have laundered money equivalent to €384,000 ($408,583). A warrant had been issued for his arrest by Westminster Magistrates Court.
The Albanian had come to Germany because his fiancée lived here and was seriously ill. Based on a red notice from Interpol, German police arrested him provisionally on Dec. 28 last year and the man ended up in extradition custody.
Janssen pointed out weaknesses in the British prison system to the court, according to LTO. These are, according to Janssen, chronic overcrowding, staff shortages, and violence among inmates. He wrote to the court that the detention centers came partially from the Victorian era in the 19th century and the cells are partially too small, too dark and badly ventilated.
The court demanded guarantees from the British side that minimum standards would be met in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. In addition, the British side should inform the court in which prisons the Albanian is to be detained and what his conditions of detention will be like there.
Since the UK is no longer a member of the EU, the rules of the European Arrest Warrant no longer apply here, but rather the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) concluded between the EU and the UK in 2020. According to this agreement, the execution of a TCA arrest warrant can be made subject to conditions.
On the last day of the deadline set by the court, according to the LTO, an email arrived from a Manchester police station that rather magnified the court's concerns. It did not contain any guarantees but instead stated that Britain was creating 20,000 new detention places to overcome overcrowding.
The Manchester letter also did not provide specific information on the planned location of the detention facility, only stating that the first prison would likely be located in Greater London. Janssen then pointed out to the court that Greater London is also home to Wandsworth Prison, which is particularly overcrowded at 160%.
Since the British authorities did not respond to further inquiries from the German court, it decided after the expiration of the second deadline that the extradition of the Albanian to the UK was "inadmissible at present." The man was released.
A spokeswoman for the UK Justice Ministry told the Guardian newspaper: "This government is doing more than ever before to provide safe and secure prisons that rehabilitate offenders, reduce crime and protect the public.
"We are continuing to drive forward the delivery of 20,000 additional modern prison places and our £100 million ($126 million) investment in tough security measures," she added.