Spain will extradite a man convicted of drug crimes to Italy
Spain will extradite to Italy a man wanted for drug crimes, rejecting the defense's appeal and upholding the decision for him to serve 6 years and 4 months in prison.
In Spain, a decision was made to extradite to Italy a man living in Tenerife. The Italian court in Perugia is seeking him for drug crimes. The Spanish court upheld the extradition decision, rejecting the defense's appeals and agreeing with the prosecution. The man now has to serve a sentence in Italy of 6 years and almost 4 months in prison.
It all started when Italy issued a European arrest warrant for the man's arrest and extradition. The Spanish court received the warrant in the summer of 2025. Italy wants the man to serve his sentence for several drug-related crimes. These crimes have been combined into one case.
The warrant states that the total sentence is 6 years, 3 months, and 28 days. Under Italian law, the various sentences were combined into one.
Initially, the Spanish court allowed the man's extradition, but the defense appealed. They believe that the extradition is too severe a punishment, as the man received only 1 month in prison for one of the crimes. And in Spain, the term must be at least 4 months for extradition. The lawyer also argued that the Italian court had not provided enough information and that the man had been convicted in absentia, without due process.
In August, the Spanish court partially upheld the appeal, excluding 1 month from the sentence. The prosecution appealed this decision.
Ultimately, the court ruled that Italy has the right to demand the man's extradition. The court explained that none of the sentences, not even the 1 month, could be excluded, as this would violate the logic of combining the sentences. The court also stated that Italy had provided sufficient information about the sentences. In addition, the court rejected the argument that the man had been tried in absentia, as he had been present at the trial in Perugia in 2010, had been apprehended at the scene of the crime, and had been present when the verdict was announced.
The lawyer for the man wanted by Italy tried to challenge the extradition decision. He argued that his client's rights had been violated. In particular, he spoke about the fact that there was no basis for extradition due to the 1-month sentence, that there was not enough information about the trials, that the man had been tried in absentia, and that the man had a permanent place of residence and personal circumstances that should be taken into account.
But the Spanish court rejected all these arguments. The court stated that it had received sufficient documents from the Italian courts that refuted the defendant's claims. Regarding the man's personal circumstances in Tenerife, the court noted that this was not a legal basis for refusing extradition. Although these factors are important, they cannot prevent cooperation between Spain and Italy in judicial matters.