A 36-year-old Afghan, living in the United Kingdom and found guilty of the rape of a 14-year-old girl on French soil, challenges her extradition, on the grounds that … his prison cell in Paris may not be spacious enough. Sentenced to five years in prison for this crime, he was again summoned before the judges under the extradition Act 2003, after a mandate was issued by France “For the rape of a minor”.
According to the Telegraphthe accused appeared in the court of Westminster Court ‘Court Dressed in a gray tracksuit and accompanied by an Afghan interpreter. His lawyer, Stefan Hyman, argued that his case could fall under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which stipulates that “No one can be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading penalties or treatment”. Me Hyman worried about “Real risk” that Hmadzai is “In owner in a space less than three square meters”.
A decision on October 10
If some prisons “Do not pose a problem (…) some are particularly problematic ”, he argued, before claiming that the public prosecutor writes to the French authorities to ensure that his client has his “Clean bed and (of) a space of at least three square meters”. For her part, Lucia Brieskova, representing the government, recalled that it was necessary to cross a “High threshold” for article 3 of the agreement to apply. District judge Joanna Matson postponed her decision concerning the extradition of Ahmadzai on October 10. In the meantime, the latter remains in detention.
The number of detainees in French prisons has slightly bent on August 1, with 84,177 people imprisoned against 84,951 in the previous month, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice. This figure remains worrying, while French prisons had only 62,348 operational places on August 1, i.e. a global prison density of 135 % – which even exceeded 200 % in 28 establishments or penitentiary and 150 % in 63 others. As a result of this prison overcrowding, 5,543 detainees are forced to sleep on a mattress placed on the ground, against 3,473 a year ago, and 2,383 in 2023.
