Extradition proceedings against German woman postponed

A court has postponed extradition proceedings against a German woman wanted by her homeland to face charges of arson, to allow the authorities there to declare that she would be protected from her ex-partner if returned.

Suzanne Schumann is wanted in Germany in connection with an arson attack on a stables.

In a previous sitting, the woman’s lawyer Yanika Camilleri, had told the court that the woman was contesting the European Arrest Warrant on the grounds that she feared that her ex-partner, with whom she has children, would have her murdered. The man is a powerful figure in Germany, the court was told. 

But Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech said the court was empowered to make two decisions: first of all to establish whether the crime is extraditable- a scheduled offence or one punishable by over 12 months imprisonment, or if double criminality rule applies – that the foreign crime has a similar counterpart in Malta.

Arson is a scheduled offence punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment in Germany, pointed out the court. The parties agreed that the crime is an extraditable offence.

After this, the court must examine whether there are any legal or procedural bars to her extradition. There were none, conceded Camilleri, who explained to the court that “the lady is saying that when she is returned to Germany, her Croatian ex-partner, who’s arm is longer than that of the law, will have her killed.” The lawyer said her client believed that he was using this arrest warrant to confirm where she was.