I’m glad the DPP has recommended that Lugovoi be charged with the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. I’ve no idea whether he’s guilty or innocent, of course. But the CPS obviously thinks there’s enough evidence to prosecute, and it’s good that they’re acting on that, and that a murder in London is not going to be swept under the diplomatic carpet.
He won’t be extradited, of course: many http://www.magliettedacalcioit.com countries refuse to extradite their own nationals, and Russia is one of them (France is another, as a matter of interest). Yes, Russia’s a signatory of the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, but article 6 makes special provision for countries like Russia, and when they ratified in 1999 they made a declaration taking advantage of that provision. You can find a full list of reservations and declarations here.
I must say I thought it was extraordinary to see Margaret Beckett on telly saying she’d press for “a trial in the UK”. What are FCO lawyers doing? It’s quite clear it would be unlawful for the Russian government to extradite Lugovoi (see article 61 of the Russian Constitution) and that, as I’ve explained above, Russia has no Cheap Jerseys obligation to extradite him under the Convention. Maybe Beckett should sack Daniel Bethlehem QC and hire Head of Legal instead.
The only question is whether the Russian authorities will feel it appropriate to prosecute Lugovoi there, when they receive the CPS’s file of evidence under the article 12 procedure. I doubt it, somehow.
I rather doubt that the rule of law will prevent the Russian government from extraditing whomsoever it wants.
You may be right about that, Marcin. They won’t want to in this case, though, will they?
…or to issue an european arrest warrant ( http://europapenale.blogspot.com/2007/06/affaire-litvienko-un-crocevia-dello.html )