A Bulgarian man who was about to be extradited from Malta to his homeland to serve a prison sentence for rape has been released after authorities in his homeland were unable to book a flight in time to take him home.
Tencho Gospodinov Tenev, 47, has been living with his family in Malta for the last six years. He was arrested and arraigned on May 31 after being targeted by a European Arrest Warrant. He is wanted to serve a three-year jail term for rape in Bulgaria.
Tenev had not consented to the extradition, thus setting in motion court proceedings which, in terms of law, must be wrapped up within sixty days.
His lawyer, Roberto Montalto, had argued that the case dated back 10 years and in all this time, the Bulgarian authorities had shown little interest in the man, seeking his extradition only now.
Indeed, the case would have been time-barred within eight months, he argued.
The Magistrates’ Court ultimately approved the extradition and remanded Tenev in custody, pending any possible appeal or constitutional challenge.
Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja subsequently rejected Tenev’s appeal and ordered his extradition to proceed within ten days.
But at the eleventh hour, the Attorney General filed an application asking the court to extend that time-limit since the Bulgarian authorities had flagged “logistical” problems.
Low-cost airlines refused to take arrested persons
Those authorities claimed that it was impossible to find a direct flight to Bulgaria within such a short time since low-cost airlines refused to take arrested persons on board. They would need to make arrangements for a connecting flight from Munich.
Moreover, the Bulgarian authorities lacked the necessary resources and sufficient police officers to escort Tenev on his journey back from Malta, the court was told. Flight arrangements could be made by August 25.
The court found such arguments unacceptable.
These were not circumstances beyond the control of the Bulgarian authorities and their local counterparts, observed Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja.
Both knew about the extradition and such logistical issues ought to have been tackled from the very outset.Preparations for the requested person’s trip back, in case the extradition request was upheld, should have been undertaken beforehand.
In this case, there was no closed airspace or travel restrictions as were experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and there was contact between the two countries.
In terms of the law, extradition proceedings had to be concluded within 60 since the person’s arraignment and both the Magistrates’ Court, as well as the Court of Appeal, did their utmost to wrap up the case within the short and pressing time limit, the court said.
The relative authorities had sufficient time to see the procedure right through and to make arrangements for the trip back within the time-limits laid down by law, observed Mr Justice Bugeja.
This was not done and as a result, “time, human resources and other resources were uselessly wasted, to the detriment of the proper administration of justice”.
The court, therefore, upheld an urgent application filed on Monday morning by Tenev’s lawyers and ordered his immediate release from custody once the 10-day limit had lapsed.
Lawyers Roberto Montalto and Roberto Spiteri assisted Tenev.