Extradition between Germany and Russia

The German constitution protects German citizens against extradition to so-called third states, Article 16 (2) GG. Third countries are countries that do not belong to the European Union. Extraditing German citizens to other EU countries and certain international courts is permitted in cases where “the rule of law is observed”. This allowance for extradition to EU countries is a recent development, but it does not extend to other countries (“third countries”), including Russia. The German state will take over the prosecution in cases where extradition orders are placed on German citizens.

Extraditions of EU citizens are possible and, according to the ECJ, do not violate the general prohibition of discrimination, Article 18 TFEU, or the free movement of persons within the EU, Article 21 TFEU. However, the Member State to which the person concerned belongs has a priority right to transfer and must therefore be informed before extradition.
This protection also extends to citizens of countries within the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and countries within the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) such as Iceland.

Any foreigner who has committed a punishable crime abroad can, in principle, be extradited, Section 2 (3) IRG.

German extradition law offers the persons affected by extradition orders many legal possibilities to challenge the decision. In cases where a foreign state, e.g., Russia, submits an extradition request to Germany and the German authorities take the person in question into custody, the person can consent to simplified extradition under Section 41 IRG or challenge the decision.

The offence in question must constitute a criminal offence in both the requesting and the requested state. In Germany, the crime would have to be punishable by a maximum of at least 1-year imprisonment, Section 2 IRG. Political or personal motives and military breaches of duty do not constitute admissible grounds for extradition, Section 6 and 7 IRG. A well-founded suspicion that the person concerned will be treated adversely in the requesting state due to personal characteristics also leads to the inadmissibility of extradition, Section 6 (2) IRG. According to the principle of speciality in Section 11 IRG, the person concerned will not be extradited if they are also to be punished for other offences they have committed before transfer.

Further extradition, transfer, or deportation to a third state always requires the consent of the requested state, Section 11 IRG. If the extradition request or the judicial admissibility decision should raise doubts about whether the abovementioned conditions are guaranteed and complied with, our lawyers will take the appropriate legal steps and exhaust all possibilities to prevent unlawful extradition.

Although political or military motives may not always be apparent, our lawyers can uncover evidence and such motivations through comprehensive research and expert analysis of the individual circumstances and the available evidence, which can prevent inadmissible extradition.

Should the extradition order or the court decision breach German law, our team will relentlessly pursue this case. We will follow all avenues available when challenging an extradition order.

There have been many criticisms of the prison conditions in Russia. Prisons often face chronic overcrowding and a lack of adequate sanitary facilities.

The European Convention on Human Rights and case law relating to European human rights show that a country attempting to extradite an accused person must first assess the risks of massive violations of rights to which the person might be exposed in the event of extradition. The German extradition law states that if there is a risk of torture or inhumane treatment/conditions of detention (Art. 1 GG, Art. 3 ECHR), then the extradition order will be deemed illegitimate.

In addition, allegations of political motives behind extradition requests have been raised frequently. The European Court of Human Rights has on several occasions criticised the excessive length of pre-trial detention and the conditions of such arrests in Russia.

As mentioned before, it is not always apparent that a case contains an element of political persecution. Our legal professionals are experienced at uncovering evidence of political or other motivations behind extradition cases (as seen in this case: “Removal of Interpol Red Notice: Successful Russian Case“).

Extradition cases are concerned with criminal offences and should never be based on political, religious or military reasons. Therefore, a sought extradition for prosecution or enforcement is inadmissible and must be refused by the requested state if based on such grounds.