One of Taiwanese investigated in Spain wins his extradition trial and tightens treaties with the Asian giant
According to the Chinese agents investigating his activities in Spain, Liu Hongtao was the capo of a Taiwanese mafia who works from our country for telephone scams of citizens in China. For this reason, Interpol issued a red notice to arrest him on December 8, 2016. To avoid arrest, Liu traveled to Poland. But on August 6, 2017, he was arrested and 25 days later, the Asian giant Warsaw requested his extradition.
Aware that he could end up as the 219 compatriots Spain extradited to China in 2019, despite the controversy sparked by the case, Liu embarked on a judicial odyssey to avoid facing a legal system with no guarantees and controlled by the government. From the Biaolęka detention center in Warsaw, where this 1980-born man is still incarcerated, he argued before several courts that extradition would expose him to the risk of torture and that it would be difficult for him to get a fair trial.
Despite the fact that Polish judges recognized that Liu could be sentenced to life in China for telephone fraud, even the Polish Supreme Court approved his transfer to the communist country. So Liu fired his latest round and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Now the Strasbourg institution agrees with him in a ruling that, unless appealed to the Grand Chamber, will take effect on January 6 and could have profound implications for the continent’s relations with the Asian giant. “They’re going to screw up,” said José Antonio Martín Pallín, Supreme Court magistrate emeritus.
According to the unanimous verdict of the court, whose sentences are binding on the 46 countries that recognize it, extradition to China would violate human rights and is inadmissible. Specifically, the ECtHR considers that it violates Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as it would expose him to the risk of torture during his detention. In addition, it believes that the five years Liu spent in prison constitutes an illegal detention, for which it awards him 6,000 euros in damages. “This is the first time the ECtHR has reviewed renditions to China and, bearing in mind that Liu does not belong to an ethnic or religious minority, nor is he a political activist, we believe that his case will lead to all extradition requests are denied.” denied and that even the process of new petitions is blocked,” analyzes the human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders.
Other judicial sources say the verdict is likely to turn the current extradition treaties with China into a dead letter and point out that it leaves the Spanish justice system in a bad place as it has been shown to violate the human rights of Taiwanese extradited to the second world power . “Some of them have lost touch, even their lawyers don’t know where they are being held and under what conditions,” the NGO said. “Spain is one of the most extradited countries to China and one of the few Europeans where we have no data that a request has been denied,” emphasizes Safeguard Defenders.
Martín Pallín believes that Spain acted correctly in the case of the Taiwanese, although it could have invoked the principle of brutal punishments for the duration, “because of the disproportionate between the ones imposed in Spain and China”, to refuse extraditions . In any case, he considers the ECtHR’s ruling “very risky and unwise” and is cautious about its consequences. “We’ll have to see what scope it has,” he adds.
“Liu’s case against Poland makes it clear that extraditions to China should be handled on the assumption that the defendants will be ill-treated, in violation of the ban on torture and degrading treatment. Extradition is in principle inadmissible, both for dissidents and those not involved in political activities,” said Marcin Gorski, Liu’s pro bono lawyer, in an interview with EL CORREO.
The lawyer does not foresee that the Polish government will appeal the verdict, “mainly because it was taken unanimously and with good reason.” However, he expects China to be dissatisfied, something Martín Pallín finds “more than justified”, and put pressure on Polish leaders to do so. “It is something that cannot be ruled out if the decision is made not only on legal grounds, but also on other policies,” Gorski fires.
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Asked whether this punishment is carte blanche for criminals who attack the interests or citizens of the Asian giant, the lawyer categorically denies: «There is no obstacle for them to be investigated and prosecuted in Europe. China must cooperate sincerely and effectively with the international community to raise its level of protection of fundamental rights so that they can withstand international scrutiny. This is the responsibility of the Chinese government. The ball is in your roof.”
The verdict comes at a time of maximum tension over the revelation that China is operating more than 50 clandestine “police stations” in various parts of the world – Spain is the country with the largest number at nine – with the aim of returning alleged criminals to their country and appear in court there, an issue revealed by Safeguard Defenders and confirmed by this newspaper causing a diplomatic storm in several countries.
Source: La Verdad
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