Constitutional court rejects Sicilian Mafia boss's application against extradition

A constitutional court is understood to have turned down an application requesting it to declare Sicilian Mafia boss Sebastiano Brunno's right to a fair hearing had been breached and the decision to allow his extradition exposes him to cruel and inhuman treatment.

The decision removes one of the last obstacles to the Sicilian's extradition to serve a life sentence for murder, complicity in aggravated attempted murder and possession of arms and explosives in Italy.

Brunno had been arrested in Malta in July 2014 after Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona authorised Brunno’s detention on the strength of a “Red Notice” issued by Interpol.

Brunno had been convicted of murder, complicity in aggravated attempted murder and possession of arms and explosives by the Italian courts in his absence and had received a life sentence.

The validity of the extradition procedures, instituted at the request of the Italian government, had been accepted by the Maltese courts. Brunno’s lawyer, Roberto Montaldo, had subsequently filed an appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal in November 2014 which, however, was rejected the following January.

One of the grounds of the rejected appeal was that were he to be extradited, he could be punished under Article 41bis of the Italian penal code (a disposition of the law which allows the government to suspend certain basic rights of prisoners ).

Montaltdo had insisted that if extradited, Brunno risked being subjected to Article 41bis and the “inhuman, cruel and degrading” treatment this brings with it.

The lawyer had told the MaltaToday that extended periods of solitary confinement in windowless cells were often used with regards to such prisoners.

The Court of Criminal Appeal had nevertheless rejected the appeal, and an application to the Constitutional Court was then filed, claiming it to be evident that the previous court “had not understood and appreciated the argument made by the appellant and had overlooked it – so much so that it had not even expressed an opinion on this particular argument.”

But that court has also ruled against the Sicilian. Contacted for his comments on the matter, Montaldo mooted the possibility of filing another constitutional action, but added that this was ultimately his client's decision.