SECOND SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 11200/15
Massimo ROMAGNOLI
against Montenegro

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 4 September 2018 as a Committee composed of:

Ledi Bianku, President,
Jon Fridrik Kjølbro,
Ivana Jelić, judges,
and Hasan Bakırcı, Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 23 February 2015,

Having regard to the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

1. The applicant, Mr Massimo Romagnoli, is an Italian national, who was born in 1971 and lives in Glifada (Greece). He was represented before the Court by Mr F. Jovović, a lawyer practising in Podgorica (Montenegro).

2. The Montenegrin Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs V. Pavličić.

3. Notified under Article 36 § 1 of the Convention and Rule 44 § 1 (a) of the Rules of Court of their right to intervene in the present case, the Italian Government expressed no wish to do so.

A. The circumstances of the case

4. The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.

5. On 4 December 2014 an indictment (optužni predlog) was issued against the applicant by the US District Court, Southern District of New York, for conspiracy to kill officers and employees of the USA, and conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organisation.

6. On 16 December 2014 the applicant was arrested in Montenegro pursuant to an international arrest warrant (međunarodna potjenica).

7. On 17 December 2014, during a hearing before an investigating judge of the High Court (Viši sud) in Podgorica, the applicant stated that he wished to cooperate with the US authorities in order to prove his innocence, and that he be extradited in summary proceedings (u skraćenom postupku). The same day an extradition detention was ordered, starting as of 16 December 2014.

8. On 22 December 2014 the US Justice Department sought the applicant’s extradition to the USA. It also submitted the relevant parts of the US legislation.

9. On 20 January 2015 the High Court issued a decision for extradition in summary proceedings (dozvoljava se izručenje u skraćenom postupku). The decision specified that for the first criminal offence that the applicant was indicted for the US legislation provided for a prison sentence of indefinite duration or a life-sentence. For the second one it provided for a prison sentence of up to 15 years, unless the criminal offence resulted in someone’s death, in which case the legislation provided also for a prison sentence of indefinite duration or a life-sentence.

10. On 2 February 2015 the applicant appealed. He submitted, inter alia, that his extradition to the USA would be contrary to Article 3 of the Convention in view of the sanctions he was facing there without a possibility of a conditional release.

11. On 13 February 2015 the Court of Appeal (Apelacioni sud) dismissed the applicant’s appeal relying on the International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act and United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (see paragraphs 14 and 15 below). The court made no reference to the applicant’s submission related to Article 3 of the Convention and the possible irreducibility of a life-sentence he would be facing in the USA if extradited.