Extradition, Asylum and the Principle of Non-Refoulement: How Criminal Prosecution and International Protection Interact
This report by Observatoire ARGA and ARGA Atlas examines the interaction between extradition procedures, asylum procedures and the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits transferring a person to a state where there is a real risk of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, politically motivated prosecution, an unfair trial or other serious human rights violations.
The authors show that extradition and international protection often develop in parallel. The same circumstances may be examined simultaneously by criminal courts, migration authorities, INTERPOL, international courts and United Nations mechanisms. For this reason, defense in such cases requires a unified strategy combining criminal-law arguments, evidence of persecution, human rights materials and international response mechanisms.
The report identifies key risks: transfer to a state where the person may face torture, politically motivated prosecution or an unfair trial; excessive reliance on requests and diplomatic assurances from the requesting state; inconsistent positions across extradition and asylum procedures; prolonged detention; and the persistence of INTERPOL notices, banking and migration restrictions even after protection has been granted.
The report’s central conclusion is that the principle of non-refoulement must prevail over a formal extradition request where there is credible risk of serious human rights violations. Effective defense requires coordinated action in extradition proceedings, asylum procedures, INTERPOL mechanisms and international human rights institutions.
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