Extradition of Mafia turncoat Donatella Concas to go ahead

The extradition to Italy of a mafia turncoat who was arrested in Malta on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is to go ahead, a court has ruled.

This was determined by magistrate Aaron Bugeja, presiding the Court of Magistrates as a court of Committal in his judgement in the extradition of Donatella Concas.

Italian news reports say Concas was convicted of involvement in organised crime, forming part of the main gang in the Veneto region between 2009 and 2011. She allegedly was part of a clan of the Camorra who took advantage of several entrepreneurs' needs, providing liquidity at usurious interest rates. After her conviction, Concas disappeared without a trace for more than a year and it was only after what were described as “extensive technical investigations,” that she was traced to a residence in Mosta.

Lawyer Malcolm Mifsud had initially tried to fight her extradition on the grounds that it would breach her right to life, arguing that she stood a risk of being murdered in Italy for informing on her former mafia colleagues.

When this failed, the defence pointed out that for the European Arrest Warrant against his client to be valid, the requested person - Concas in this case - must have been physically present in court when her sentence was delivered.

The parties could not agree on which judgement was to be considered as the basis for the EAW. This was important as, while Concas had been present when her appeal was decided, she had not when the Italian supreme court - the Corte di Cassazione - subsequently confirmed the first court's decision. 

The court ordered the prosecution to liaise with Italy's judicial authorities in order to obtain clarification.

The prosecution had subsequently obtained confirmation from EuroJust Italy, wherein Dr. Rossella Rossi explained that the definitive judgement was that delivered by the Venetian Court of Appeal – where Concas had been assisted by her lawyer.

EAW proceedings are also not subject to the traditional rules of extradition, pointed out magistrate Aaron Bugeja.

Magistrate Bugeja based his decision on the fact that the principal reason behind the creation of the European Arrest Warrant was to ensure expediency and minimise bureaucracy in the implementation of decisions by judicial authorities in participating states. “These principles are based on the concept of reciprocal trust,” he said, without which the system would collapse.

Lawyer Vincienne Vella appeared for the office of the Attorney General