Strasbourg court orders suspension of Rrapo’s extradition

TIRANA, Nov. 3 – Ardian Visha, Almir Rrapo’s lawyer, said Wednesday the Strasbourg Court had ordered the Tirana authorities not to extradite Rrapo, 28, to the United States. It wants Albanian authorities to wait for a Supreme Court decision, and then wait for 15 more days for the European Court of Human Rights looks into the matter.
Earlier this week the Tirana Appeals Court decided to extradite him to the United States, as requested by authorities there, where he is accused of murder, kidnapping and racketeering.
The court upheld a lower court’s decision, rejecting Rrapo’s defense arguments that he could be sentenced to death if convicted in the US. Rrapo, 28, was arrested in July based on a request from authorities in Washington.
Rrapo worked as an aide to Foreign Minister Ilir Meta when arrested.