Pakistani arrested in Siena for murder remains free: extradition denied because “Greek prisons are inhumane”

The Court of Appeal of Florence has refused the extradition to Greece of a 26-year-old Pakistani citizen because prison conditions in the country are considered inhumane. The news was reported by the Italian newspaper La Verità.

The man, arrested in Siena last December, was released on Monday. He is subject to a European arrest warrant for murder and aiding illegal immigration, crimes allegedly committed in Kilkis last September.

Before the judges of the Florence Court of Appeal, the man’s defense lawyer opposed the extradition, arguing both the lack of serious evidence of guilt and the inhumane and degrading conditions in Greek prisons.

In January, the court had asked the Greek authorities for information about the prison facility where the Pakistani man would be held if extradited. The reply, received on March 2, indicated two possible institutions — those in Negrita and Thessaloniki — but provided no details about detention conditions.

The court therefore relied on information from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which reported that the Greek prison system faces critical conditions, including overcrowding, serious shortages, violence, inadequate healthcare, insufficient prison staff, and living conditions incompatible with conventional standards.

In its ruling, the court stated that executing a European arrest warrant cannot in any circumstances expose a person to inhumane or degrading treatment, in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, provisions that establish an absolute and non-derogable prohibition on such treatment.