Nenad KRSTIC and Miloš MITIC against Serbia and 4 others.
On December 11, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter: the Court) issued a decision in the case and on January 22, 2026 Nenad Krstić and Miloš Mitić and 4 others. no. 35477/21, 35661/21, 35672/21, 35701/21 and 36634/21
It's a decisionbroughtthree-member Board.
The case refers to the request for extradition of the applicants to the United States of America and the applicants' claims that, in case of extradition, their rights from Art. 3, 8 and 13 of the Convention. The court rejected the applicants' complaints under Article 3 of the Convention as clearly unfounded, and the complaints under Art. 8 and 13 of the Convention deemed unacceptable, because they do not indicate any violations of human rights and freedoms established by the Convention and its Protocols. |
THE CIRCUMSTANCES CASES
All the applicants were charged before the District Court of the United States of America (hereinafter: USA) in the Northern District of the State of Texas that, as co-perpetrators, they allegedly damaged investors around the world for more than 70 million US dollars, so that in the period from 2014 to 2020, from their homes in China, Serbia and other places, they searched for target-investors all over the world, including the Northern District of Texas, through the Internet, who would invest money in fake investment platforms. with binary options and for cryptocurrency mining.
On July 14, 2020, the US Ministry of Justice submitted to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia a request for the temporary detention of the applicants for the purpose of extradition, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Extradition Treaty concluded between the Republic of Serbia and the USA ("Official Gazette of the RS - International Agreements", number 2/2019), which, among other things, stipulate that extradition for the purpose of criminal prosecution, i.e. for the purpose of imposing or executing a sentence, shall not be refused on the basis of the nationality of the person whose extradition is looking for.
The applicants were deprived of their liberty on July 24, 2020, after which the High Court in Belgrade - Special Department for Organized Crime ordered them to be detained.
On April 13, 2021, the High Court in Belgrade determined that all legal prerequisites for the extradition of the applicants to the USA were met, which decision was confirmed on June 25 of the same year by the Court of Appeal in Belgrade.
When on July 24, 2021, the legal deadline of one year for the maximum duration of detention for the applicants expired, the High Court in Belgrade canceled their detention and imposed a measure prohibiting them from leaving their place of residence with the obligation to periodically report to the competent police stations.
The applicants submitted a request for protection of legality to the Supreme Court of Cassation and a constitutional appeal to the Constitutional Court demanding that their extradition be prevented. Both procedures were ongoing at the time of submission of the petitions.
The applicants turned to the Court with a request for the issuance of a temporary measure.
In the period from July 13 to 21, 2021, the court (single judge) decided to adopt a temporary measure and ordered the Republic of Serbia not to extradite the applicants to the USA until August 16 or 19, 2021.
The court canceled the temporary measure on September 29, 2021.
The Supreme Court of Cassation ruled on November 25, 2021Kzz. OK. 23/2021, rejected certain requests for the protection of the legality of the applicants as unfounded, and rejected some.
The proceedings before the Constitutional Court are still ongoing.
COMPLAINTS APPLICANTS AND THE PROCEDURE BEFORE THE COURT
The petitioners submitted their applications to the Court on July 13, 14, 15 and 21, 2021.
In their petitions, they complained about the violation of the prohibition of torture from Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter: the Convention), considering that in case of their extradition to the USA, they would be in harsh and substandard conditions in Texas detention and prison units, especially taking into account the current number of people infected with the COVID-19 virus in the state of Texas and among inmates, and that, if they were convicted,de facto were in prison for life without the possibility of parole.
They further complained about the violation of their rightsto respect for private and family life from Article 8 of the Convention, because in case of extradition, they would face permanent separation from their families, since their minor children and immediate family members would not be able to travel to the USA in order to maintain contact and mutual relations.
Finally, they complained about the violation of the right to an effective legal remedy from Article 13 of the Convention, because in their opinion, they did not have an effective legal remedy available for the aforementioned violations.
After receiving the applicants' petitions, the court made decisions in July 2021 on temporary measures and by which, in the sense of Article 39 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court, he ordered the Republic of Serbia not to extradite the applicants. The temporary measures were abolished by the Court on September 29, 2021.
THE DECISION THE COURT
- Article 3 of the Convention
Evaluating the allegations of the applicants that in case of extradition to the USA, they are at risk of being extraditedde factolife sentences which would therefore constitute inhuman or degrading treatment, the Court recalled that the Convention does not prohibit the imposition of life sentences for the most serious crimes, but that the sentence must bede iure andde facto decreases. Also, the Court reminded that each applicant is obliged to provide adequate evidence for his claims.
Taking into account the fact that the accomplices of the petitioners were sentenced in a Texas court to a sentence that did not exceed five to seven years in prison, and that the petitioners did not claim that if convicted they would be sentenced to life in prison without the right to parole, nor did they refer to Texas laws or practice that would support their claims that such a sentence could constitute inhumane or degrading treatment, the Court found that the petitioners did not meet their burden of proof and therefore did not able to establish that their extradition to the USA would expose them to the risk of punishment that would be contrary to Article 3 of the Convention.
Furthermore, the Court assessed that the applicants would not be exposed to a real risk of exposure to the virusCOVID-19 in an American prison. The court, taking into account the developments in 2020, especially regarding the availability of vaccines, virus variants and the lifting of restrictions in the USA, found that there is no risk that could reach the minimum level of seriousness required.
Therefore, the Court rejected all the applicants' complaints under Article 3 of the Convention as clearly unfounded.
- Art. 8 and 13 of the Convention
Other complaints of the applicants under Art. 8 and 13 of the Convention were declared inadmissible by the Court, as they did not indicate any violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms established by the Convention and its Protocols.