fifa

The United States has still not sent extradition demands for seven FIFA officials arrested last week in a Zurich hotel, a Swiss judicial spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Americans have until July 3 to demand extradition of the seven — including FIFA vice-presidents Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo — over allegations they were involved in accepting more than $150 million in bribes.

The detained men could then face up to six months behind bars awaiting the decision of a Swiss court.

“We have not yet received formal extradition demands; we will release a statement when it happens,” said justice ministry spokesman Folco Gallia.

The septet, who have all said they will contest extradition, can apply for bail but it is rarely permitted if the accused are considered flight risks.All seven are from outside Switzerland.  

Living conditions in the six prisons where they are being held lack the amenities they were used to in the five star hotel they were staying in in Zurich before being awakened in a dawn raid last week, according to Swiss media.

The 12 square metre (130 square feet) cells have a toilet, a table, a chair and a radio and they can rent a television.

They are not allowed access to a personal computer or mobile phone, they are obliged to walk for an hour a day and can receive visits from their lawyers but family visits are only by approval, a  judicial official told AFP. Their daily routine is far removed from their normal high life. The inmates must get up at 7.00am and have the option of working — where duties include wrapping parcels, putting price tags on goods or helping in the kitchen.

If they decide not to work they have to stay in their cells, but they can take books out of the prison library. Lunch and dinner each costs 15 Swiss francs ($16/14 euros) and consists of meat or fish with, from time to time, vegetables and tinned fruit. – Agence France-Presse

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