- October 7 

Europe Laws May Hinder Extradition

LONDON  - European human-rights legislation may hinder Britain from extraditing suspects in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks who could face the death penalty in the United States, a government official said Sunday.

Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights bars Britain and the other signatories from extraditing prisoners if they could face capital punishment.

There is no death penalty in any of the 15 member nations of the European Union .

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that Home Secretary David Blunkett had told American officials he would approve extradition only if the United States waived the right to impose the death penalty.

U.S. officials may want to extradite Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian pilot who prosecutors say instructed some of the hijackers on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon . Raissi was arrested in London Sept. 21 on a U.S. warrant and could face charges of conspiracy to murder.

On Sunday, Blunkett acknowledged that the government could ``spend years losing'' legal challenges if it contravened Article 3. But he said he was not seeking a ``blanket commitment'' from the United States that the death penalty would not be imposed.

Blunkett told the British Broadcasting Corp. that officials would ``find ways round the situation.''

 He added: ``We will ensure that we do what the rest of the world expect, which is to get people back to them when they're a democracy, when they have a perfectly open and accountable judicial system and where they know that someone is suspected of carrying out a terrorist act.''

 Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, European Union leaders agreed to streamline extradition procedures within the union and said they also wanted to make it easier for suspects to be extradited to the United States, but sought assurances from Washington that those handed over will not face death sentences.

 Belgian Justice Minister Marc Verwilghen said at the time that extradition could not proceed until the death penalty issue was resolved.

 ``We always have said in the EU that the execution of the death penalty is not an option,'' Verwilghen said. 

USA TODAY 

Death penalty could affect extradition

Europe may help the U.S. to capture terrorist suspects, but with trade-off

By Ellen Hale - LONDON �

The United States may have to sacrifice the death penalty if it wants to extradite and try suspected terrorists arrested in Europe.Within a month, European Union leaders will meet with top U.S. officials to hammer out streamlined extradition procedures. But the price, they say, could be a promise that any suspects in last month's attacks extradited to America would not face execution. Most EU countries will likely oppose the extradition accords as long as the United States retains the death penalty, said a spokesman for Belgium's Justice Minister Marc Verwilghen. 

Belgium currently holds the presidency of the 15-member European Union. ''I don't know if they will want a blanket agreement or not, but it is possible,'' Joannes Thuy said.As more suspects are picked up throughout Europe, the issues of capital punishment and extradition threaten to hinder the otherwise efficient cooperation that has marked U.S. and European efforts to round up terrorists.''While the controversy between the United States and Europe on the issue of capital punishment has not created any difficulties so far -- the subjects with alleged links to the attacks are being arrested on a daily basis across Europe -- this may change if the U.S. requests their extradition,'' said Lord Russell-Johnston, president of the 43-nation Council of Europe.

A first test case could be Lotfi Raissi, the Algerian flight instructor arrested nearly 2 weeks ago in London and suspected of training four of those involved in the hijackings. Raissi, originally held on charges of falsifying information on an application for a U.S pilot's license, could now be charged with conspiracy to murder, according to prosecutors here representing the United States.They have 60 days to present evidence to justify extradition.

In Britain, a pledge by Prime Minister Tony Blair to quickly push through Parliament new laws to speed up the country's arcane extradition procedures also could face resistance. Britain would draw up a list of countries it recognizes as having fair and comparable legal systems, so suspects could quickly be sent there for trial.Blair also plans to propose steps that would limit the right to appeals. Three men suspected of playing key roles in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania have been in custody here for 3 years fighting extradition to the USA. Civil-liberties advocates say Blair's proposals may not be enacted as swiftly as he hopes. 

''The government is stampeding the citizenry into doing dubious things in the wake of this,'' said Stephen Jakobi, head of Fair Trials Abroad, a European legal rights charity based in London.Jakobi's organization particularly objects to fast-track extradition such as that being proposed by Blair, arguing that it strips people of their rights. Currently, extradition between European nations and the United States is handled on a case-by-case basis. But countries here have uniformly refused to extradite suspected criminals unless U.S. officials sign a document stipulating that the individual would not face capital punishment if convicted. Since the terrorist attacks, several EU ministers have asked for a new comprehensive agreement that would address the death-penalty issue, Thuy said.Last week, EU officials pushed through proposals that would set up a Europe-wide arrest warrant and facilitate extradition within the continent.

European arguments against the death penalty have long centered on ethical reasons. Now, leaders here say the terrorist attacks make capital punishment politically dangerous, as well. ''What is the purpose of executing people who are willing to die?'' asked Russell-Johnston of the Council of Europe. ''If anything, such executions risk having the opposite effect: creating martyrs out of criminals.''