Romanian woman wins €260,000 after wrongful imprisonment in Italy

Italy has been ordered to pay over 260,000 euros to a Romanian woman who was illegally detained for nearly three years after being convicted in Italy for crimes she had already served time for in Romania. The Bari Court of Appeal granted the compensation. The 57-year-old woman was sentenced in absentia in 2007 by the Trani court to nine years for alleged involvement in a trafficking ring. She had already been tried and punished for the same offenses in Romania, making a second prosecution unlawful. She was arrested in Italy unaware of the existing conviction, spending 996 days in prison and 228 under house arrest before the sentence was revoked. The court awarded 261,760 euros, covering both detention periods.