The Former Secretary-General of the Council of Europe writes a letter to the Financial Times arguing that in fact Russia is legally able to extradite Andrei Lugovoi.
Article opens door to extradition of LugovoiFrom Prof Daniel Tarschys
Sir, The claim that the Russian constitution prevents the extradition of the former Russian agent Andrei Lugovoi is contestable.
It is true that one article in its bill of rights and freedoms contains what seems to be a blanket guarantee against the extradition of Russian citizens, but a subsequent article opens the door for extradition of indicted persons on the basis of federal law or international treaty.
On December 10 1999, the Russian Federation ratified three international treaties on extradition (Council of Europe conventions ETS 024, 086 and 098).
The special reservations and declarations attached to these ratifications do not seem to vindicate the refusal to extradite Mr Lugovoi, but any objections to the UK request should at any rate be based on these texts rather than on the Russian constitution.
Daniel Tarschys,
Professor in Political Science,
University of Stockholm,
Stockholm, Sweden
(Former Secretary-General of the Council of Europe)
| Permalink
SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
Post a comment