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New York Prison Authorities Cling To Romanian Convict

A Romanian citizen convicted to life imprisonment in the United States of America has been requesting a transfer to a Romanian prison for ten years now, but US authorities appose his request.
New York Prison Authorities Cling To Romanian Convict
28 iul. 2008, 16:27, English

 

Romanian Roberto Ciaprazi,41, is currently in the Sing Sing prison facility, in the state of New York, sentenced to life in 1991 on kidnapping charges.

Based on the Strasbourg Convention on the international transfer of convicted detainees, he asked for his transfer to Romania in 1998.

His request was repeatedly denied by theDepartment of Correctional Services in the state of New York on grounds that lifers are not eligible for international transfer.

Following Cipriazi’s appeal in April 2008 a Court of Appeals in New York decided that the nature of the penalty does not determine whether a convict is eligible for an international transfer or not.

This decision however does not force the Department of Correctional Services to approve the transfer.

Romanian authorities have already approved his transfer and the Washington federal authorities lack an apparent reason to oppose to it.

For a measure to be enforced, it needs the approval of the federal state holding the prison facility, and each state has its own norms for the application of legal procedures, even when international conventions are involved.

The spokesperson of the Department of Correctional Services, Erik Kriss, said the case of Roberto Ciaprazi is still under examination and the Head of the Department has not yet reached a decision.

Romanian consulate authorities looked into the case of Roberto Ciaprazi following his appeal and his repeated requests to be transferred to a Romanian prison.

The Department of Correctional Services approved only 32 international transfer requests in the past 12 years, according to a report.

Over 6,000 foreign convicts are imprisoned in the state of New York, which represents 10% of their total number of detainees.

Among the detainees 12 are Romanian. Expenses for each detainee in a New York prison reach some $35,000 per year.