In the cases of Matthews and Johnson v. Romania and Lazăr v. Romania the Court held that there had been no violation of the right to liberty and security and that the complaint concerning the prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment was inadmissible.

The case concerned the applicants’ detention and the Romanian courts’ ordering their extradition to the United States in March 2021. All three applicants were wanted for, among other charges, racketeering, drugs and money-laundering offences.

The Court found that the applicants had failed to show that they were at risk of life imprisonment without parole if extradited to the US, noting the sentencing practice in similar cases before trial courts in the US.

• Press release
• Factsheet: Extradition and life imprisonment