Man wanted in two countries refuses extradition

A man wanted to face criminal proceedings in two European countries has resisted the latest European Arrest Warrant issued against him.

47-year-old Goran Stojanovski from Macedonia was arrested in Malta on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant issued by a court in Bulgaria.

In June last year, a Maltese court had jailed Stojanovski for five years after finding him guilty of using pepper spray to rob and slightly injuring two men at a beach lido in St. George’s Bay.

News reports from the time of his arrest stated that Stojanovski had already been designated as a wanted person by the Slovak authorities to face charges relating to armed robbery and organised crime. That Court had ordered that he be extradited to Slovakia after the criminal proceedings against him in Malta were concluded. 

A second EAW was issued after that, requiring Stojanovski to face armed robbery charges in Bulgaria. 

Before the sitting began, Stojanovski repeatedly told the Inspector that which country he would be sent to after serving his sentence in Slovakia made no difference to him. “Bulgaria, Germany, China. It doesn’t matter.”

After ascertaining that the required documentation relating to the arrest warrant was all in order, Magistrate Rachel Montebello asked the defence whether it was contesting the assertion that the defendant was the same person identified in the European Arrest Warrant.
Lawyer Martin Farrugia declared that it was not.

Magistrate Montebello then explained to the man that he was wanted in Bulgaria to face charges of complicity in an armed robbery at an insurance company's offices in Bulgaria, during which mobile phones and keys were stolen, amongst other things.

Inspector Spiteri informed the court that the man had also been the subject of a prior, EAW that had been issued by Slovakia.

Lawyer Martin Farrugia informed the court that the man was not consenting to being sent to Bulgaria. 

In view of his refusal to submit to the EAW, the court appointed a sitting tomorrow to hear evidence and submissions on this point.

Inspector Roderick Spiteri prosecuted. Lawyer Martin Farrugia was legal aid defence counsel.