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The Sofia Court of Appeal admitted on Friday the request of the Romanian authorities regarding the extradition of the former Minister of Tourism, Elena Udrea, who has to serve a 6-year imprisonment sentence in Romania, in the Gala Bute case.
The court in Bulgaria ordered the enforcement of the European warrant issued in the name of Elena Udrea and the extradition to Romania, the decision being final.
Elena Udrea was brought in handcuffs to the courtroom, where she received a verdict from Bulgarian judges.
On Friday, Elena Udrea made the last attempts to persuade the judges from the neighboring country not to send her to Romania. Thus, she requested the referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union with a preliminary question regarding the legal standard at the level of the European Union states.
As the settlement of the complaints at the CJEU takes a long time, Udrea requested that she be released until a CJEU verdict.
Udrea also told the Bulgarian judges about the numerous "wrongdoings" committed against her during the trial in Romania and asked them to reject the Romanian authorities' request for her extradition.
In early April, Elena Udrea fled Romania before the Supreme Court upheld the 6-year prison sentence received in the Gala Bute case.
On April 7, Udrea was caught by the Bulgarian border police while trying to cross into Greece with a car at the Kulata crossing point.
In mid-April, the Blagoevgrad district court approved the enforcement of the European warrant issued in her name and her extradition to Romania.
Elena Udrea appealed this verdict at the Sofia Court of Appeal, to no avail.AGERPRES
