– I am in shock. I hope it’s just a dream and that I wake up tomorrow and that everything was just nonsense, says Dace Taurina. Tears well up when she tells about the life she has built up in Florø. A good, safe and drug-free life with work, many good friends and active leisure time. Here she is far away from her homeland where she lived on the streets and got high. Now the good life is being crushed. Fears she will die On Friday, Taurina will be sent to Latvia to serve time in prison. Here she must serve 18 months for a drug offense she committed 15 years ago. She was then drugged with 8.7 grams of methamphetamine. – It would most likely result in a fine in Norway, says Bente Hermansen, the woman’s lawyer. The problem started when she went to the embassy in Oslo to get a passport, something she hasn’t had in 15 years, writes Firdaposten. Since she had been in Norway, she had not been made aware of the arrest warrant from her home country. Taurina says she will take her sentence, but fears that serving it in her home country will end in disaster. – Then I won’t get the life-necessary treatment that I go to on a daily basis. If I don’t get it, I’ll die, she says. In 2019 she contracted lymphoma, from which she is now declared healthy. But the 42-year-old needs lifelong medical treatment for his weakened immune system. At the Spenst training center in Florø, Taurina has found a job and a great passion for training. She will soon take a course to become a personal trainer. Madelen Øvrebotten Hopen (tv) and Anja Grøndal work at the center and call the 42-year-old around. Photo: Steinar Lote / news For the next four years she must take medication to prevent the cancer from returning. In addition, she is on LAR medication for opioid addiction. Once a month she has to go to the hospital for treatment. – All medicine is particularly expensive. She will not have access to health care and medication in prison, says Hermansen. Lawyer: – An extraordinary case After a similar round in the legal system, the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness decided in 2014 that Dace should not be extradited for humanitarian reasons. Taurina’s story in 2008: Taurina is charged with possession of 8.7 grams of methamphetamine in Latvia. 2010: She is arrested in Oslo and requested to be extradited to Latvia. The Court of Appeal rejects the appeal, and the case goes to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness. 2010-2011: Taurina testifies in a major human trafficking case. 2012: Taurina gets an interim residence permit, which will later be renewed. 2014: The ministry decided that Taurina should not be extradited to Latvia for humanitarian reasons. 2022: In September, Taurina is again requested to be extradited to Latvia. 2022: Sogn og Fjordane District Court and Gulating Court of Appeal hear the case in September and November respectively. 2022: The Supreme Court rejects the appeal. The Attorney General makes a decision on handover, and the complaint about this is processed by the Attorney General. Hermansen has difficulty understanding that Taurina is being sent out of the country now. – She is in danger of dying if she does not get the necessary medicines she needs, says Hermansen. They have complained about the extradition in the court system and believe that “humanitarian considerations” should weigh heavily. They have also asked that Taurina can serve her sentence in Norway, or serve it in Latvia when she gets better. But they have been refused everything, including by the State Attorney and the Attorney General. Bente Hermansen believes the Attorney General should have rejected the arrest warrant that came from Latvia last autumn. Photo: Steinar Lote / news Taurina cannot serve her sentence in Norway as she does not have a permanent residence permit. The Attorney General writes that they will therefore not consider whether the 42-year-old can serve time in Norway. – This is a rather special and extraordinary case. Dace has managed to get a sunny story out of his life, and now it will turn into the worst imaginable, says lawyer Hermansen. – It is a shame that Florø has called about Taurina after it became known that she was to be extradited. – This is simply heartbreaking, says Arlene Vågene, group leader in Kinn høgre. Friends and acquaintances collect money that Taurina can use for legal assistance in her home country. The hope is that she will receive a much lighter sentence. – It is a shame that this is happening. I can hardly find words. My heart is broken. The tears roll when her friend Viviann Arntsen tells about how important Taurina is to them. She has become like a weasel sister. Smiling and helpful to everyone. Dace Taurina (th) together with her friend Viviann Arntsen, who has become a good friend. Photo: håvard heggen / news – She is one of us. She has left her old life behind, and now we have to give her the life she deserves, says Arntsen.
ttn-69
Dace is afraid she will die if she is extradited to her home country – news Vestland
