Australian drugs suspect fights US extradition at the Council of State
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
An Australian man detained at the Athens prison of Korydallos as a suspected member of an international drugs smuggling ring, has filed an appeal against his extradition to the US at the Council of State, Greece's highest administrative court, it was reported on Tuesday.
The man, 41, was arrested in Mykonos in 2021 after an Interpol red alert for his alleged involvement in an international cocaine ring active in the US state of Florida. His arrest was the result of a collaboration of Greece's drugs enforcement agency and the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
A request by American authorities for his extradition was accepted by both Greek courts and the Greek justice minister. It is the ministerial decision which approves his extradition that the US that the Australian man is asking the Council of State (CoS) to void, claiming that he was the victim of a so-called 'police entrapment' plot in the US.
He also claims his potential extradition violates the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which requested more information from Greece. The Greek justice minister then approved his extradition.
In his appeal to the CoS, the man also cites serious health issues relating to a pacemaker he was fitted with while in jail in Greece, and concerns over jail conditions in the United States in terms of medical services.
