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Chechen Extradition Hearing Continues

January 29, 2004

            A law suit has been ongoing for more than a year which may set a precedent for all future extradition hearings between Georgia and Russia. Since no formal extradition treaty currently exists between the two countries, a relatively high-profile case such as this may have far-reaching implications. 

The case, Shamayev and 12 others v. Georgia and Russia, ongoing since August of 2002, involves the rights of 13 people who fled into Georgia from Chechnya. The Russian government claims the 13 are terrorists and have been trying to arrange their extradition back into Russia. The Chechens claim that their fundamental human rights will be violated not only by the Russian government, which the Chechens fear will subject them to an unfair trial and punish them with undue severity, but by the Georgian government, because the Georgians know that Russian will treat the Chechens unfairly.   

            The problems began between August 3 and August 5, 2002. During that time, the 13 Chechens were detained by Georgian police at a border checkpoint in the town of Girevi. The Chechens were charged with illegally crossing the state border, unlawful possession of firearms, and unlawful trading in firearms. On August 6, a Tbilisi court ordered them to be detained in pre-trial custody for 3 months while an investigation was undertaken. Also on August 6, Russian authorities requested the extradition of the 13 Chechens, who were alleged to be terrorists. Initially, the Georgian Procurator General's office decided that the Russian government had not provided enough evidence against the 13 to warrant extradition, but eventually more evidence against the Chechens was submitted, and on October 2, the Procurator General's office decided to allow the extradition.

            On October 4, 2002, the Chechens applied to the European Human Rights Court to halt their extradition. In this case, the impending violation of the defendants' human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, including the right to life and the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, which was implied should the defendants be extradited to Russia, was invoked. As capital punishment, considered in all cases to be a violation of the ECHR, exists in Russia, the Chechens maintained that threat of execution alone was enough to halt their extradition.

            Also, according to Georgian law, if a person is incarcerated in prison and does not want to leave, they cannot be forced to do so. In this case, the Chechens all chose to remain in Georgian prison rather than return to Russia, but 5 were forcibly removed and extradited.

            The

European Court
decided that rule 39 (allowing the Court to implement any interim measures it considers to be in the interest of parties or the proper conduct of the proceedings) did apply in this case, and ordered the Georgian government to halt the extradition until a thorough examination into the evidence presented by both sides could be undertaken. Also, since the defendants' case was filed against Russia as well as Georgia, under rule 40 (regarding urgent notification of an application to the court), the Russian government was notified of the Chechens' application to the
European Court
. Under rule 39, the Russian government was also required to prove that its detention measures would not violate the ECHR.  However, the application to the court came too late, and 5 of the defendants were extradited to Russia on October 4 before the court's decision could be put into effect.

            On November 5, the Court decided that interim measures would continue in effect until November 26, 2002, and that both sides would have until November 24, 2002, to provide additional evidence before a decision on extradition was reached.

            On November 26, 2002, the Court decided that Russia had provided adequate guarantees of access to legal advice, and medical treatment. Furthermore, the Russian government assured the court that the Chechens would not face capital punishment, and that their health and safety would be protected. The Georgian government was likewise satisfied both that enough evidence existed to extradite the defendants and that their treatment would be Russia would be acceptable. Based on all of this, the Court decided that rule 39 could be lifted and the Chechens could be deported. However, the Chechens themselves once again requested that rule 39 remain in force, and the Georgian government itself decided to wait for further clarification from the Court before making a final decision on extradition.

Because of the enormous number of cases the Court hears each year, nothing further developed until September 19, 2003. The Russian government had complained that the Chechens themselves had not intended to apply to the Court, but rather that lawyers working independently, without a mandate from the defendants, had applied on their behalf while claiming to represent them. The Court decided that this complaint should be considered along with the rest of the evidence in the case.

            On October 24, 2003, the Court decided to carry out fact-finding missions in both Georgia and Russia, to gather evidence from witnesses and from the defendants themselves. However, due to the political instability in Georgia at the time, which ultimately culminated in a bloodless coup and the resignation of President Eduard Shevrednadze, the mission was indefinitely postponed. A new mission is now scheduled for sometime in early 2004, with a final decision expected later this year.

 

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