Mafia boss Sebastiano Brunno appeals extradition order

Sicilian Mafia Boss Sebastiano Brunno has appealed a court’s judgement ordering his extradition to Italy, arguing that if he were to be sent back to Italy, he could be subjected to “unjust and oppressive treatment” at an Italian jail.

Moreover, Brunno also argued that the extradition order should be declared null because it was based on wrong information and that the proceedings should consequently be declared null.

Last week, Magistrate Aaron Bugeja ordered Brunno’s extradition. In turning down the defence’s request to declare the proceedings null, the magistrate said that Brunno – who is currently serving a three-month jail term for being in the possession of a fake Italian identity card – will be extradited back to Italy once he serves his prison sentence.

Brunno, 56, is wanted in Italy to serve a life sentence over the 1992 murder of Angello Nicolo.

Brunno is known as the head of the Nardo Cosca, a branch of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.

He was arrested by Maltese police on 2 October in an apartment in Bugibba, five years after the Sicilian police launched a manhunt for him. Brunno had been a fugitive since 2009 and a European Arrest Warrant had been issued on 22 July after Catania authorities had informed their Maltese counterparts about Brunno’s convictions and possible presence in Malta.

The Italian authorities had previously declared that Brunno is also wanted in connection with an attempted murder in September 1992, but this conviction had been overturned by an appeals’ court.

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja said that even though there may have been mistakes in the documents, the Sicilian was nevertheless a fugitive for failing to serve time in jail over a murder.

Appealing the judgment, Brunno’s defence lawyer Roberto Montalto argued that his client should not be sent back to Italy for a crime he did not commit, and that as a result of the incorrect information, the authorisation given by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici should also be declared null.

Moreover, the defence argued that if Brunno were to be sent back to Italy he could be subjected to “unjust and oppressive treatment” at an Italian jail.