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| Mafia boss ready for extradition |
3/16/2007 |
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AMSTERDAM - The Netherlands may hand mafia boss Francesco S. over to Italy, the court in The Hague decided this morning. S.''s Dutch attorney Inez Weski tried to prevent the extradition in interim proceedings in The Hague.
Italian justice officials say that S. is a prominent member of the N''Drangheta clan, the most powerful mafia clan in Italy at the moment.
S. was arrested in Amsterdam last June. Italy says he has been hiding out here for some time and that he also arranged drug smuggling via the Netherlands.
Weski does not think S. should be extradited because Italy tapped three telephone lines in the Netherlands without permission from Dutch authorities. In doing so Italian authorities violated the sovereignty of the Netherlands, she says.
The Dutch public prosecutor handling the extradition case says he was not aware of the Italian investigative actions previously, but does not think that a possible violation of sovereignty will affect S.''s extradition.
The court agreed that S.''s extradition may go forward.
Weski had requested that Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin investigate the illegal tapping of telephone lines by the Italians. The minister replied that he would not do so.
[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2007]
Subject: Dutch news
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