A request for the extradition of a Maltese-Australian man to Lithuania must be rejected as otherwise the courts could be an accomplice in human rights breaches due to the appalling conditions in Lithuanian prisons, a judge heard this morning. The call for the request to be rejected was made by defence counsel appearing for 44-year-old company director Angelo Spiteri who is wanted in Lithuania over allegations of forgery and swindling. Mr Spiteri is a director of the Vilnius-registered travel company Atostogu Sandelis. Iif found guilty he could spend a total of 17 years in prison. On January 15, a Magistrates Court had acceded to a European Arrest Warrant issued last summer, but the man filed an appeal which started being heard this morning before Madame Justice Edwina Grima. In his submissions, lawyer Jason Azzopardi who forms part of a the three-man defence team, noted how the arrest warrant was issued in line with the provisions of an EU framework decision. The latter stated that no persons shall be extradited to a state where there is a "serious risk" of inhuman treatment and torture, he pointed out. The defence argued that it had presented sufficient evidence to back its...
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