A convicted forger is fighting extradition to Romania because the country’s prison cells are too small.
In a landmark case, Danut Nitoi claims his human rights would be breached if he was forced a serve out a four-year sentence is a room measuring between about 6ft 6inches and 9ft 10 inches squared.
The 28-year-old has secured legal aid to fight his case through the Scottish courts after being detained a European Arrest Warrant in October.
Nitoi argues that the cell in an open prison in Romania would amount to a breach of Article 3 of the European Court of Human Rights, which outlaws „torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
If successful, Nitoi could severely hamper the ability of the UK to extradite or deport to Romania’s overcrowded jails.
His case follows similar actions under the article that led the European Court of Human Rights to rule that Italian prisons were so overcrowded they breached the human rights of inmates.
That ruling, in 2013, led an English judge to hold up the extradition of a Mafia don, Domenico Rancadore, to Italy last year.
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Forger fights extradition because Romanian prison cells are too small
