The European court of human rights has just condemned the Bays countries for "the inhuman conditions" in which Francesco Corallo was detained while awaiting his extradition to Italy, between December 2016 and August 2017.
As a reminder, on December 13, 2016, Francesco Corallo, head of the Atlantis World casino group (Dunes, Atlantis, Beach Plaza and Paradise Plaza) was arrested by the anti-corruption brigade of Sint Maarten, part of the island's Dutch, as part of an investigation which had mobilized Italy, France and the Netherlands. He is suspected by the Italian authorities of tax evasion, money laundering, of having participated in a criminal organization, and of having embezzled nearly 250 million euros.
Part of his property had been seized (three boats, 170 apartments, a casino, bank accounts and eighteen luxury watches). The 56-year-old man was remanded in a cell at the Philispburg police station until his extradition to Italy in August 2017, just over eight months.
For the European Court, the Netherlands has not respected article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights: “No one may be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. "
The lawyers of Francesco Corallo had indeed denounced the conditions of detention of their client which they assimilated to torture. He would have shared his cell for several months with five or six people while the toilets were leaking inside and it was necessary to use towels to separate them from the rest of the cell which had only two bunk beds for four detainees, and therefore mattresses on the floor for others. When he was incarcerated 23 hours a day in an individual cell without daylight or ventilation, it had no wardrobe, table or chair.
Corallo has been detained for 114 days in the cell of a police station, while the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) considers that no one should be detained in such a place for more than three days, and in any case, never more than ten days. The Court therefore ordered the Netherlands to pay 5000 euros in non-material damage to Corallo and 5500 euros for legal costs. A verdict that raises many questions in the Dutch part, especially on the question of responsibility. (Source: www.soualigapost.com)
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