Crime is not only a national but also an international phenomenon. To increase the effectiveness of the fight against it, interaction between law enforcement agencies is carried out at the interstate level. One of the tools for such international interaction is extradition, but there are also countries that do not extradite criminals to Russia. The Russian authorities are constantly holding negotiations, but not all international players are ready to cooperate. All this is discussed in our article.
What is it: definition
Extradition is the extradition of a criminal from the state where he is located to the state in which he committed the crime.
The state has the right to request extradition if:
- the criminal is a citizen of the state that submitted the extradition request;
- a foreign person has committed a crime on its territory;
- damage was caused directly to the country.
Current international law characterizes extradition as a right, but not an obligation, unless countries have concluded an appropriate agreement on mutual cooperation in the fight against criminal offenses.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation categorically prohibits the extradition of its citizens.
The extradition of foreigners and stateless persons of the Russian Federation is possible if there are signed agreements between the interested party and Russia. Also, extradition will certainly be refused if the criminal in his homeland after extradition faces:
- the death penalty;
- torture;
- other inhumane conditions of detention.
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment and Extradition
Antigua and Barbuda passed the Extradition Act in 1993, which allows for the extradition of criminals to third states even in the absence of a corresponding bilateral treaty with a particular state.
The country has an extradition treaty with the United States and is also a signatory to the collective Extradition Treaty of the Organization of American States (OAS), which has 35 member countries. India also signed an extradition agreement with Antigua and Barbuda in 2001.
Types and their classification
Among the numerous international and national laws, one can draw a line and highlight common features that are characteristic of most countries. This leads to the following classification of species:
- subjective;
- regulatory;
- target;
- regulatory
Subjective extradition involves decisions made on the basis of the suspect's nationality and includes the extradition of:
- foreign citizens;
- citizens of the Russian Federation;
- stateless persons;
- persons with dual citizenship.
The regulatory aspect divides the process by the nature of interaction based on:
- international laws;
- national laws;
- mutual cooperation.
The purposes of extradition are expressed in:
- administration of justice;
- imposing punishment;
- serving a sentence.
The regulatory type of extradition involves respect for mutual rights and obligations and is divided into:
- extradition of the offender to the country that initiated the request;
- extradition of a criminal from the country at the request of another state.
Alexey Kuznetsov (2019)
On January 3, 2021, former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Alexey Kuznetsov was extradited from France to Russia. According to Russian investigators, from 2005 to 2008, an organized group led by the ex-minister fraudulently stole funds from regional enterprises in the Moscow region in the amount of more than 14 billion rubles. In July 2008, Kuznetsov retired and left for the USA. It later turned out that the official had dual citizenship - Russia and the USA, which is prohibited by the federal law on civil service. On July 14, 2011, the Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested Alexey Kuznetsov in absentia on charges of fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), embezzlement (Part 4 of Article 160) and legalization of funds and property acquired by criminal means (Part 3 of Art. 174.1). On July 5, 2013, the ex-minister was detained by French police at the request of Russian law enforcement agencies in the resort of St. Tropez on the Cote d'Azur in France. The case for his extradition was considered by the French appellate courts for more than five years. On December 16, 2021, the Basmanny Court of Moscow sentenced Kuznetsov to 14 years in a general regime colony. The court also satisfied the civil claims of the victims, ruling to recover more than 14.3 billion rubles from the ex-Minister of Finance. On June 30, 2021, the Moscow City Court reduced Kuznetsov’s sentence by four months - to 13 years and 8 months.
Conditions for the extradition of a criminal
Extradition applies only to a person who has committed a crime from the list in the agreement on mutual cooperation between countries. The main criterion for finding an offender guilty is the principle that the crime entails punishment in both countries.
The extradition of a violator who has broken the law in several countries at once is regulated by diplomatic negotiations and international agreements. The state requesting extradition must provide compelling evidence of the criminal's guilt. If the offender has already been sentenced in his homeland, the decision on extradition is made based on the materials of the case.
The political component of the persecution can serve as a weighty argument for refusing extradition.
According to the European Convention of 1957, extradition for subsequent political persecution is prohibited . Such persons come under the protection of the state from which extradition is requested. A citizen extradited upon request should not be punished for crimes not stated in the extradition request.
In what cases is it possible?
Extradition of a criminal is possible in cases where:
- according to the law, the offender will receive at least one year in prison for the crime or it is classified as especially serious and subject to criminal jurisdiction;
- the extradited person has already been sentenced to a term of at least six months in the territory of a state that is not the homeland of the offender;
- the State concerned ensures that the offender will be prosecuted and punished only for the crime specified at the time of the request;
- the state concerned guarantees that, after being released from custody, the extradited citizen will be able to leave the country without hindrance;
- the State concerned ensures that the offender will not be forcibly removed from the country or transferred to another State without the permission of the extraditing country.
When is it not provided?
In Russia, a request for extradition will not be considered positively if:
- the violator is a citizen of the Russian Federation;
- the requested person has been granted asylum in Russia;
- the criminal has already been convicted in the Russian Federation or the case has been closed;
- there are legal obstacles to extradition;
- the statute of limitations for the crime has expired;
- Russia does not recognize the violation committed as a crime;
- the crime was committed on the territory of the Russian Federation or against its interests.
Anatoly Bykov (2000)
On April 21, 2000, the former chairman of the board of directors of the Krasnoyarsk aluminum smelter, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (in 1997-2016) Anatoly Bykov was extradited from Hungary to Russia. In Russia, he was accused in a criminal case of legalization of illegally acquired funds (Part 3 of Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR), and of complicity in the premeditated murder of businessman Oleg Gubin in 1996 (Article 102). On August 18, 1999, the Krasnoyarsk prosecutor's office issued a warrant for Bykov's arrest. On October 29, 1999, he was detained by Hungarian law enforcement agencies on an Interpol warrant. After extradition, he was placed in a pre-trial detention center (SIZO) in Krasnoyarsk. However, on August 24, 2000, Bykov was released on bail from a group of Krasnoyarsk public figures and businessmen. On September 21, 2000, the prosecutor's office of the North-Western Administrative District of Moscow opened a new criminal case against Anatoly Bykov. He was accused, in particular, of attempting to organize an assassination attempt on the Krasnoyarsk leader of a criminal group, Vilor (Pavel) Struganov, nicknamed “Pasha Tsvetomuzika.” In October 2000, Bykov was placed in the Moscow Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. On June 19, 2002, the entrepreneur was sentenced by the Meshchansky Intermunicipal Court of Moscow to six years and six months of suspended imprisonment. On July 1, 2003, the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court found him guilty of involvement in the murder of Oleg Gubin, sentenced to one year in prison and amnestied in the courtroom. All other charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. On April 20, 2005, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk lifted his suspended sentence on the first verdict and expunged his criminal record. On May 7, 2021, Anatoly Bykov was arrested in Krasnoyarsk. He was charged with organizing several murders, tax evasion on an especially large scale (Part 2 of Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and leading a criminal community (Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Execution order
The extradited person has the right to use the services of a lawyer in international affairs. His experience in this kind of cases will help avoid human rights violations when transferring a citizen to another state.
To carry out extradition, the interested state must submit a request to the country where the criminal is located. After this, consideration of the extradition case will begin within 40 days. The State extraditing the requested person shall act in accordance with the following points:
- transfers the offender to the prosecutor's office at the address of residence;
- chooses a preventive measure;
- carries out extradition checks;
- makes a decision on extradition;
- makes a decision;
- notifies the person of the decision made;
- transfers the person to the requesting state.
According to paragraph 6 of Art. 462 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, a citizen has the right to appeal the decision no later than 10 days from the date of notification of this.
A cassation appeal is filed within 7 days from the date of receipt of the refusal. In some cases, the Prosecutor General's Office may delay extradition or extradite a person for a certain period of time to participate in the trial.
Question in Russian criminal law
- Clause 1 Art. 61 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation prohibits the extradition of citizens of their country.
- According to paragraph 2 of Art. 63 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, citizens who have committed crimes that are not recognized as such on the territory of Russia, as well as those persecuted for political reasons, are not extradited.
- The extradition of foreign citizens and stateless persons is regulated by Art. 13 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
- The decision on the issue of extradition is considered by the Prosecutor General or his deputy in accordance with paragraph 7 of Art. 462 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
In addition to the above documents, the legal basis consists of legal acts and treaties of international scope. Russia has signed agreements on cooperation on extradition issues with 65 countries. Extradition can be carried out without a treaty within the framework of an equivalent exchange between states.
The following countries also do not extradite their citizens:
- Japan.
- France.
- Belarus.
- Ukraine.
- China.
But the countries of the European Union, on the contrary, willingly hand over criminals to justice within the union. But when extraditing them outside the Union, they will be guided by the personal circumstances of the case.
European Union
EU countries behave like typical women in matters of extradition. The most reliable is Austria, like Great Britain, the extradition of fugitives is the exception rather than the rule, then Poland is extremely dangerous in this regard. At the same time, Austria also issued 3 cases of extradition. Still, the most reliable country for shelter is Sweden. Spain is also very dangerous for refugees.
Israel does not extradite only those with Jewish roots.
In the UAE, those accused of economic crimes are practically not extradited, but those who have committed a criminal offense are willingly extradited.
When can they refuse?
The grounds for refusal of extradition are:
- violations when submitting a request;
- lack of evidence of guilt;
- the requested person is not a citizen of the country;
- the sentence does not exceed 6 months;
- in the homeland, the violator faces the death penalty or torture;
- The conditions of detention of prisoners do not comply with international law.
In cases where a state interested in extradition requests the extradition of an already convicted person to serve his sentence in his home country, the following conditions may serve as grounds for refusal:
- the offender is convicted of violations that are not such in his home country;
- the punishment will be canceled at home due to the statute of limitations or by court decision;
- an international treaty on extradition has not been signed between the states;
- the convicted person lives in the Russian Federation on a permanent basis.
International standards
In modern international law, extradition, as a general rule, is a right and not an obligation of the state. With a high degree of probability, you can count on issuance if several conditions coincide:
- the criminal act was committed on the territory of the interested party;
- the offender is its citizen;
- the act caused harm to the state or its citizens;
- crimes are punishable under the laws of both countries.
However, extradition is often prohibited at the constitutional level; Russia, for example, does not extradite its citizens. According to the 1957 Convention, those persecuted for political reasons may be given special status.
The percentage of extradition of criminals is high where there is a corresponding agreement between states. Russia has agreements with 65 countries, which is less than a third of the total number of states.
States that do not have this concept
It is worth mentioning that there are no countries that never extradite criminals to the requesting party.
Any state, under pressure from the international community, will sooner or later extradite the offender to his homeland. The only question is how active the interested power will be.
There are countries that, due to strained relations with neighbors or any other country, do not extradite criminals there. But they also have partners or supreme states with whom the extradition process has been established under international agreements and treaties.
Despite all this, there are a number of states from which it is almost impossible to obtain extradition. For example, under no circumstances do the following countries extradite their citizens unless they are murderers or members of an organized crime group:
- Great Britain;
- United Arab Emirates;
- Israel;
- Kingdom of Bhutan;
- Solomon islands.
Self-proclaimed and partially recognized countries adhere to similar policies. They reason like this: since they are not recognized by the world community, then there can be no talk about extraditing criminals from their territory. Such states include:
- Cook Islands.
- Niue Island.
- Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
- Free Kashmir.
- Republic of Kosovo.
- Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Where won't they send an attacker to Russia?
It makes no sense for the Russian Federation to wait for the extradition of a criminal from countries that:
- are not parties to international conventions on mutual cooperation;
- did not conclude an agreement with Russia on mutual assistance in the fight against international crime;
- do not recognize the violation as a crime;
- are in geopolitical confrontation with Russia.
These countries include:
- USA;
- Canada;
- Japan;
- China;
- Poland;
- Sweden;
- Lithuania;
- Latvia;
- Estonia;
- Georgia;
- Austria;
- South Korea;
- Belarus.
Which states will not extradite a criminal to the USA: list
The following countries do not carry out extradition to the United States:
- Russia;
- Ukraine;
- Belarus;
- Moldova;
- Armenia;
- Kazakhstan;
- Uzbekistan;
- China;
- Syria;
- Croatia;
- Montenegro;
- Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Azerbaijan;
- Georgia;
- Kyrgyzstan;
- DPRK;
- Morocco;
- Serbia;
- Tunisia;
- Tajikistan.
Difference from deportation
The terms extradition and deportation mean actions that are similar in meaning – the removal of a person from the country. But there are a number of conditions that affect the outcome of this process.
Deportation is the forced removal of a foreign national or stateless person whose legal authority to remain in a country has ended.
A request from another state is not required for deportation. The decision on it is made by the country's migration service. If extradition is the expulsion of a criminal from the country, then deportation is the same process, but in relation to an ordinary citizen who is in the country illegally.
Another fundamental difference is that the deportee will not be subject to persecution or punishment in his home country.
There is not even a fine for deportation, and the flight will be paid for by the state that carries it out. However, entry into the country will be closed for at least 5 years. The commonality between the terms is that deportation, along with extradition, is prohibited in relation to its citizens.
The use of extradition does not guarantee fair justice and a reduction in the level of international crime. Often it is effective only on paper, but in reality even dangerous criminals feel at ease on the territory of the harboring state. But in 2021, there have been positive trends in international law in this direction, which will simplify the extradition procedure.
Alexander Zakharov, Martin Babakekhyan (2007, 2008)
On August 17, 2007, Alexander Zakharov was extradited to Russia from Spain, and on January 19, 2008, Martin Babakekhyan. In May 2003, they were put on the international wanted list on charges of involvement in the murder of Magadan Region Governor Valentin Tsvetkov in Moscow on October 18, 2002. On July 7, 2006, at the request of Russian authorities, the suspects were detained in the Spanish city of Marbella, where, according to local police, they lived with fake documents. On February 21, 2011, the Moscow City Court sentenced Alexander Zakharov to 17 years in prison. Martin Babakekhyan was recognized as the organizer of the murder of the governor and received 19 years. Other members of the criminal group that organized the murder of Valentin Tsvetkov were also sentenced to long prison terms. The masterminds of the crime were not identified during the investigation.
