Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu announced on Monday that a Maltese court admitted the prosecutor’s office appeal and overturned the first decision of the judges whereby the extradition of fugitive Paul-Philippe of Romania had been denied, and ordered the retrial of the case.

„I am able to provide you with information fresh from today, from the Maltese judiciary. The surrender of fugitive Paul-Philippe of Romania will be tried again. The court accepted the prosecutor’s office appeal, overturned the extradition denial decision and sent the case to retrial. He remains in custody until a final decision is made; the request for release on bail was also rejected today. A thank you to all those who took the necessary steps and were involved in this procedure. We are waiting for the next stages,” Gorghiu said.

On May 20, Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu announced that a Maltese court rejected the request for the extradition of Paul-Philippe to Romania, stating that from the ministry’s point of view the European legislation on the matter of the European arrest warrant „is not properly applied”.

„The enforcement court – the Brasov Court of Appeal – will send an official address to the Maltese Prosecutor’s Office, asking them to duly exercise the right of appeal, so as to prevent procedural errors like those arisen as the French Prosecutor’s Office was handling the case. The Romanian state is using all the legal levers to bring all the fugitives to the country,” Alina Gorghiu said in a release back then, also mentioning that the justices of the Brasov Court of Appeal had notified the EU Court of Justice to rule on some preliminary questions, specifically to say whether the EU legislation in the matter of the European arrest warrant is being observed in the case of Paul of Romania’s extradition.

According to the minister, the first hearing before the CJEU is at the end of June.

In 2020, the High Court of Cassation and Justice definitively sentenced businessman Remus Truica to seven years in prison in the case of the illegal retrocession of the Royal Farm in Baneasa, and Paul of Romania was handed a three years and four months prison sentence in the same case.

AGERPRES