Athens court overrules final jail sentence given by Romanian judges to Beny Steinmetz

Athens Court of Appeal rejected Romania's request for extradition of Beny Steinmetz, sentenced to 60 months in jail by a Bucharest court for fraud and money laundering.

The Athens Court of Appeal rejected the extradition request, thus validating his right to move freely, according to the Greek publication Euro2day, local G4media.ro reported.

Steinmetz's right to a free trial was "violated" in Romania, and once extradited, he may be subject to "discriminatory, inhuman and degrading treatment," the greek judges argued.

Besides his accomplices, who also received jail sentences, Steinmetz was illegally "returned" state properties worth EUR 145 mln.

This is not the first case in which final rulings of Romanian courts are overruled by foreign courts. Last summer, the UK High Court refused to extradite Gabriel Popoviciu - another businessman also sentenced to years of jail (7) under a final ruling in Romania. Popoviciu "wasn't given the right to a fair trial," the British judges found. Both are cases where the legal evidence is hard to contest.

Following the announcement of the ruling issued by the Athens Court of Appeal, Beny Steinmetz stated that "it is a resounding and clear response from Greece as an EU Member State against the practices of politically directed and politically motivated prosecutions, violations of the rule of law and human rights."

Steinmetz was given a five-year jail sentence in Switzerland.

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