Why bother with an Extradition Treaty when you can just kidnap any citizen of any country from anywhere you like?
The United States of America has told Britain that, under American law, it can kidnap British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States. The laws of the 'target' nation are considered irrelevant. A senior lawyer for the American government told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens is permissible under American law because the US Supreme Court has sanctioned it.
Until now it was commonly assumed that US law permitted kidnapping only in the extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects. But for the first time the American government has made it clear that the law applies to anyone, British or otherwise, suspected of a crime by Washington. American authorities view extradition as just one way of getting foreign suspects back to face trial. Rendition, or kidnapping, is still considered a legitimate process by the Americans.
The US government’s view emerged during a hearing involving Stanley Tollman, a former director of Chelsea football club. During a hearing last month Lord Justice Moses, one of the Court of Appeal judges, asked Alun Jones QC representing the US government about its treatment of Gavin Tollman, Stanley’s nephew. Gavin was the subject of an attempted abduction during a visit to Canada in 2005. Jones replied that it was acceptable under American law to kidnap people if they were wanted for offences in America.
“The United States does have a view about procuring people to its own shores which is not shared” he said, adding that if a person was kidnapped by the US authorities in another country and was brought back to face charges in America, no US court could rule that the abduction was illegal. “If you kidnap a person outside the United States and take him there, the court has no jurisdiction to refuse, it goes back to bounty hunting days in the 1860s.”
Mr Justice Ouseley, a second judge, challenged Jones to be “honest about his position”. Jones replied: “That is United States law.”
He cited the case of Humberto Alvarez Machain, a suspect who was abducted by the US government from his office in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was flown by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to Texas for criminal prosecution. Despite the extradition treaty in place between America and Mexico at the time, just as there is currently between the USA and Britain, the Supreme Court ruled that the Mexican had no legal remedy regarding his abduction because the alleged offense took place in another country.
Bastards ... slimy bastards all over the world!
The United States of America has told Britain that, under American law, it can kidnap British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States. The laws of the 'target' nation are considered irrelevant. A senior lawyer for the American government told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens is permissible under American law because the US Supreme Court has sanctioned it.
Until now it was commonly assumed that US law permitted kidnapping only in the extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects. But for the first time the American government has made it clear that the law applies to anyone, British or otherwise, suspected of a crime by Washington. American authorities view extradition as just one way of getting foreign suspects back to face trial. Rendition, or kidnapping, is still considered a legitimate process by the Americans.
The US government’s view emerged during a hearing involving Stanley Tollman, a former director of Chelsea football club. During a hearing last month Lord Justice Moses, one of the Court of Appeal judges, asked Alun Jones QC representing the US government about its treatment of Gavin Tollman, Stanley’s nephew. Gavin was the subject of an attempted abduction during a visit to Canada in 2005. Jones replied that it was acceptable under American law to kidnap people if they were wanted for offences in America.
“The United States does have a view about procuring people to its own shores which is not shared” he said, adding that if a person was kidnapped by the US authorities in another country and was brought back to face charges in America, no US court could rule that the abduction was illegal. “If you kidnap a person outside the United States and take him there, the court has no jurisdiction to refuse, it goes back to bounty hunting days in the 1860s.”
Mr Justice Ouseley, a second judge, challenged Jones to be “honest about his position”. Jones replied: “That is United States law.”
He cited the case of Humberto Alvarez Machain, a suspect who was abducted by the US government from his office in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was flown by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to Texas for criminal prosecution. Despite the extradition treaty in place between America and Mexico at the time, just as there is currently between the USA and Britain, the Supreme Court ruled that the Mexican had no legal remedy regarding his abduction because the alleged offense took place in another country.
Bastards ... slimy bastards all over the world!
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