Germany and the 17 conditions for extraditing the 'ndrangheta killer: «How many degrees are there in the cell? Will he have the newspapers?”
by Carlo Macrì
Valerio Salvatore Crivello, known as "The Palermo", sentenced to life imprisonment, will be transferred to Italy on condition that he can benefit from a "humane" prison regime. The lawyer: staying abroad is a victory, she could have a review


Valerio Salvatore Crivello: he was a masseur in Germany

Extradited yes, but on the condition that in Italy Valerio Salvatore Crivello, known as "The Palermo", sentenced to life imprisonment, can benefit from a "humane" prison regime. The German judicial authority , where the former fugitive had taken refuge (he was a masseur in a hotel in Sylt, where he was arrested in September) to escape life imprisonment for the murder of Pietro Serpa, which occurred in 2003, has placed stakes to deliver Crivello to Italian justice . He did so by submitting seventeen questions to the Court of Appeal of Catanzaro, which had issued a European arrest warrant for the "Palermitano", 'ndrangheta killer , to understand the state of Italian prisons. A real questionnaire that lists a series of conditions on which the outcome of the life prisoner's extradition will depend.

The issue of overcrowding
First of all the problem of overcrowding, then the healthcare treatment of prisoners, the lack of staff inside the penitentiaries. Presuppositions which the European Commission's report on the rights of prisoners had also emphasised, "beating" Italy for not having yet resolved these obligations. The judges of Schweing-Holstein, the state where Crivello had taken refuge after fleeing Italy, breaking his electronic bracelet, also asked questions about the «level of ventilation in the cell ; if Crivello will be able to have access to TV and newspapers ; the physical exercises that he can do during free time; the number of meals per day; the square meters of the cell where he will spend his detention; whether he will have a single cell; if the toilets "are included in the cell as well as separated from the sight of others".

Questions about the detention regime
Many questions: «Will the prisoner be able to work? And what kind of contact will he be able to have with family members? «The German authorities have set a deadline for knowing the outcome of their questions – says the lawyer Alessandra Adamo who, together with her German colleague Christopher Scharf, defends Crivello. "90 days have already passed and we are waiting to know how and when the judges of the Court of Appeal of Catanzaro will respond." For Valerio Salvatore Crivello, originally from Paola (Cosenza), detention in Germany would represent a victory "because - explains the lawyer - after fifteen years of detention there is a review of the sentence in that State".

The sentence reduction if he remained in Germany
Crivello has already served around nine years in prison in Italy : in six years, therefore, he could ask the German authorities for a new examination of his judicial position. «Opportunities that he would never have in Italy – explains the lawyer -. The former fugitive has always proclaimed himself innocent, explaining that he fled precisely because he believes his conviction was unjust." «We have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to reopen the trial», confirms Alessandra Adamo. «A first appeal was considered inadmissible, but we presented a second one because for us the process did not take into account some situations, such as the stub carried out immediately after the murder, the result of which was negative, and the controversial statements of some repented.