Albanian drug dealer who ‘entered UK illegally’ says he can’t be extradited to Italy as lack of hot water in its prisons breached his human rights
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An Albanian drug dealer who allegedly entered the UK illegally said he could not be extradited to Italy because there was no hot water in prisons.
Maringlen Qefalia, 41, is being pursued by Italian authorities to face a five-year prison sentence for the supply of 1.5kg of cocaine.
But the dealer is thought to have arrived in the UK in 2022 and is now citing three clauses of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to ensure he does not return to Italy and be sent behind bars.
The substance is normally used to protect against inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and torture, but Qefalia is concerned about the temperature of the water in the southern European country’s prisons.
The drug dealer chose not to present any evidence in the extradition case and instead turned to expert witness Alessio Scandurra, who works for the non-profit organization Antigone.
Mr Scandurra claimed hot water supply in Italy’s prisons was ‘variable’ and some cells overheated in summer weather.
Prisoners are allowed to purchase fans to cool themselves down, but the expert claimed at least 50 per cent of those he visited did not have fans.
He also added that many cells do not comply with the square meter requirements of the ECHR and that prisoners are not allowed to exercise.
Albanian drug dealer Maringlen Qefalia, pictured, who allegedly entered the UK illegally, says she cannot be extradited to Italy because lack of hot water in prisons violates her human rights
Regulations state that cells must have a capacity of at least nine square meters per prisoner, with an additional capacity of five square meters for each additional prisoner.
A court was told: ‘Some prisons were not built as prisons, such as convents or military installations, and may have single cells that do not meet these requirements.
‘In some prisons with 150 per cent occupancy, the main impact on the cell itself may be nine square metres, which excludes plumbing, and you can find cells with three-bed bunk beds, meaning the highest bed is close to the ceiling,’ he said.
‘Prisoners could not all sit together around the cell table. ‘These conditions affect the organization of prisoners’ access to facilities such as fresh air, as there are not enough staff.’
According to The Telegraph, Adam Squibbs, who represents Italy in the extradition case, claimed that he would comply with the rules even if the cells were 300 percent full.
He said although some of the older buildings had smaller cells, there was no evidence of how small they were.
Mr Squibbs insisted that closed detention conditions provided opportunities for outside work and training.
He argued that the general material circumstances, even taken at face value, did not violate the ECHR article.
He admitted that hot water not always being available forced some inmates to take cold showers, but this was not a violation of their rights.
Mr Squibbs said Qefalia had provided £2,000 security in his bail application, so the evidence showed he could afford a fan in his cell.
The judge rejected Qefalia’s extradition request, saying he was aware of the ‘criminal process’ that would follow after he fled Italy.
He dismissed claims of hot water due to a lack of evidence on how hot water shortages would affect inmates.
