Romania sends official extradition request for former Constanta mayor detained in Madagascar

The necessary documents for the extradition of Radu Mazare, the former mayor of the Romanian seaside city of Constanta, were handed over to the competent authorities of Madagascar on Monday, May 13, Romania’s interim minister of justice Ana Birchall announced on Monday morning.

The authorities in Madagascar detained Mazare last week and placed him under provisional arrest for six days. The former mayor fled to Madagascar at the end of 2017, to dodge trial for corruption. He received a final sentence of nine years in prison in February this year, in a case that targeted the illegal allocation of state-owned land along the Black Sea coast and beaches in Constanta.

Ana Birchall said that the extradition file was handed over to the authorities in Madagascar on May 13, in record time given the impressive volume of documents, over 600 pages.

“We remain in contact with the authorities of the Republic of Madagascar for any other information that may be deemed necessary. I would like to make it clear once again that the extradition file has been sent in complete form, with all the documents received by the Ministry of Justice from the competent courts in Romania,” Birchall said.

Meanwhile, Serge Rameau, the Honorary Consul General of Madagscar in Bucharest, told RFI Romania last week that the Romanian Foreign Ministry knew that Madagascar was ready to extradite Radu Mazare but failed to respond to the official request to release a copy of the international arrest warrant. Rameau explained that, under the law, the authorities in Madagascar needed that copy to extradite the former Romanian mayor.

“After Mr. Mazare's conviction, I was summoned by the foreign minister of Madagascar who asked for explanations, because nobody there understood who is Mr. Mazare or why he came to our country. I explained the whole situation and he said that we don’t have an extradition agreement with Romania. I replied that Romania is a member of the EU and that things should be done in a convenient way, in accordance with the laws. He replied that in judicial terms he is willing to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar but that he needs a copy of the international arrest warrant. I then returned to Romania, made a verbal note to the Romanian Foreign Ministry and asked for the copy of the mandate […]. So, Romania knew that Madagascar was ready to cooperate, but this document was needed. I have not received a response yet,” Serge Rameau explained.

The Romanian foreign minister Teodor Melescanu responded to the accusations and said that the notification of the Honorary Consul of Madagascar concerned the arrest warrant and not the extradition procedure of Radu Mazare, and that the discussion Rameau is referring to took place prior to the conviction of the former mayor of Constanta, local