Andorra Court Upholds Extradition of Spaniard Convicted of Stepdaughter Abuse

Andorra's Superior Court has dismissed the final appeal of a 44-year-old Spanish national from Seville, definitively confirming his extradition to Spain to serve a five-and-a-half-year sentence for sexually abusing his two stepdaughters in 2015 while living with their mother.

The penal chamber upheld the Corts Court's January 14 ruling during a short hearing in the main chamber on March 31, exhausting all ordinary appeals in Andorra and clearing the path for Spanish authorities to take custody. Seville's Provincial Court convicted him in 2023, after he had relocated to Andorra in 2019 with his then-partner and a young son from that relationship. Police arrested him on October 17, 2025, in a public operation coordinated by Interpol Andorra's national central office at Spain's request.

Flanked by four GIPA officers due to heightened security, the man stayed silent as the judge delivered the two- to three-minute decision. Precautions followed recent prison incidents, including a hunger strike attempt and the discovery of a detailed, hand-drawn but incomplete escape plan by staff at La Comella facility.

His defense team opposed extradition, emphasizing his "extreme vulnerability" from autism, severe depression, prior suicide attempts, and grief over his son's recent death in Spain—which he blamed on his ex-partner, claiming she "murdered" the boy while he could not protect him. They stressed his family roots in Andorra with his current partner and young daughter, arguing the transfer posed a "real suicide risk" and that he had found greater stability locally. During the February 25 appeal hearing, he declared Andorra was his country, Spain was "stained with his son's blood," and he preferred "the death penalty" over extradition.

Prosecutors maintained Spain's request met all legal standards and its prison system could provide necessary security and medical care. The court sided with this view, rejecting personal circumstances as grounds to block the handover.

The proceedings have fueled discussion on mental health assessments in extraditions, suicide prevention, and limits of cross-border judicial cooperation. With appeals exhausted, transfer preparations can now advance.