Romania will "soon" return a 33-year-old convicted drug trafficker Francesco Flauto to serve the remainder of a 4 year and 2 month prison sentence in Italy, the foreign ministry said Wednesday in a statement.
"Some procedural steps between the respective ministries of justice and interior of the two countries" are necessary before Flauto's transfer to Italy, the statement said.
The Italian embassy in Bucharest - where Flauto is currently detained - will "cooperate closely" with the foreign ministry's unit for the protection of Italians abroad and "continue to closely monitor Mr. Flauto’s situation, providing the necessary consular assistance to facilitate his swift transfer to Italy," the statement underlined.
The statement comes after a green light from Romania's authorities following Flauto’s request to be transferred to Italy. On Sunday, Flauto’s lawyer confirmed to the embassy that an appeals court in Italy had recognised the Romanian sentence on Friday.
Flauto, from Battipaglia in the southern Campania region, was arrested with another Italian citizen on 30 April last year on charges of drug trafficking and possession.
Flauto was on 23 January sentenced to 4 years and 2 months, a sentence that became final due to his decision not to appeal it. On 14 February, Flauto was transferred from the Constanța-Poarta Alba penitentiary to the Bucharest-Rahova prison to serve his jail term.
Flauto then submitted a formal request to be transferred to Italy to serve the rest of his prison sentence in his homeland.
The embassy and foreign ministry have closely tracked Flauto’s case from the outset, providing necessary assistance through frequent consular visits and "repeatedly raising awareness with local authorities about his health condition, compliance with European standards regarding detention conditions, and the expectation that Romanian authorities would swiftly authorise Mr. Flauto’s transfer to Italy," said the statement.
During a visit to Bucharest on 6 and 7 March, foreign minister Antonio Tajani urged his counterpart, Luminița Odobescu, and the Romania's justice minister Alina Gorghiu, to ensure that prison conditions met European standards and to facilitate Flauto's transfer to Italy, the statement noted.
