Romanian drug offender loses final Swiss extradition appeal

A Romanian national was sentenced in his home country to two years and six months in prison for drug-related offenses. Since he was residing in Switzerland, Romanian authorities requested his extradition. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice approved the request, but the man challenged the decision before the Federal Criminal Court. He argued that he suffered from a severe, chronic inflammatory skin condition that required treatment in Switzerland, warning that without it, he could face life-threatening complications. Among other grounds, he invoked the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The court ruled that extradition could not, in principle, be refused on health grounds, nor was there any provision in the specific agreement between Switzerland and Romania that would allow for such an exception. It also found no violation of the ECHR.

The man then took his case to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court—but to no avail. The highest court only reviews extradition cases if they qualify as "particularly significant," meaning there must be reason to believe the foreign proceedings are seriously flawed or that fundamental procedural principles have been violated. Since the Federal Supreme Court saw no evidence of either, it declined to even consider the appeal.