Wanted criminal detained in Iceland

The National Court has ruled that a Romanian man is to be detained until October 16, but the man has been wanted in his home country since his conviction for thefts he committed in 2015.

The National Court reports that the man arrived in Iceland in September 2018, at a time when he was supposed to serve a two-year sentence in Romania in July of the same year.

European Arrest Warrant issued

A European arrest warrant was issued for the man on 23 July 2021, requesting the arrest of the wanted man, a Romanian national, for the enforcement of his prison term.

Police tracked down the man on June 22 last year and were subsequently contacted by the European courts.

Used Many Names

“There is evidence in the case that the police had difficulty finding a defence for the man and did not stay at either their current or former home,” reads a September 18 court judgment by the District Court of Reykjavík.

“Then the evidence indicates that he has moved houses repeatedly while he has been in Iceland. The evidence also states that the defendant has sometimes been known as Y.

In light of these circumstances, it was agreed that there is a risk that the respondent will attempt to leave the country, hide or otherwise evade the enforcement of the sentence pending before him in Romania and that the conditions of Article 95(1)(b) of Law No 88/2008 are thus met."

Guilty verdict struck down in the National Court

The District Court of Reykjavík remanded the man in custody until October 16.

The case was then heard in the National Court on Wednesday, September 20, where the custodial sentence was rescinded and the man was instead ordered to remain in detention until October 16.

The man is to be extradited to Romania, where he will serve a prison term.