Tearful woman tells court she would be murdered by ex if extradited

A German woman who was arrested on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant has told a court that she feared she would be murdered by her ex-partner if she is returned to Germany.

Prosecuting lawyer George Camilleri from the Office of the Attorney General told magistrate Aaron Bugeja that 50-year-old Suzanne Schumann was wanted by the German authorities to face a charges relating to an alleged arson attack.

The court was told that the woman is accused of setting fire to a stables in Germany, causing €20,000 worth of damage and “possibly injuring some horses.”

The woman’s lawyer Yanika Camilleri told the court that the woman was contesting the EAW on the grounds that she feared that her ex-partner, with whom she has children, would have her murdered. The man, who was not named during today’s sitting, is a powerful figure in Germany, the court was told. The allegation, albeit not made in court, is that he had obtained the EAW through his connections.

Camilleri argued that the woman’s situation needed to be analysed by the German judicial authorities and that an arson attack that caused €20,000 worth of damage was not a good reason for the issuing of an EAW.

Magistrate Bugeja, however, pointed out that his court was precluded from dealing with the merits of the case and could only investigate a handful of grounds specified in the law, which include whether she had already been punished for the crime, whether it was time-barred or whether she was under age.

The Court explained that if the woman were to contest the warrant, her case would have to be decided within a month’s time and that she would not be eligible for bail. 

Her lawyer informed the court that Schumann was contesting the warrant. The woman had been in therapy in Germany for claustrophobia, her lawyer said, asking the court whether she could be held at Mount Carmel Hospital and not Corradino prison until the case was decided. The magistrate replied that he could only recommend this, after which the decision would be in the hands of the director of prisons.

On her fears of being murdered if returned to Germany, the court said that, likewise, it would recommend the German authorities ensure her security but that it could not bind or order the German police in any way.

“However, whether or not she gives her consent to be returned to Germany, she will be in an enclosed space for some time,” observed the court. The frail-looking woman burst into tears.

The court appointed a psychiatrist to examine the woman and report on her condition and recommended the director of prisons to keep her at the Forensic Unit.

Lawyer Yanika Camilleri is Schumann’s defence counsel. Lawyer George Camilleri is representing the Office of the Attorney General and police Inspector Chris Galea Scannura is prosecuting.