On Wednesday, the State Duma ratified treaties between Russia and Syria on mutual legal assistance in criminal cases and on the extradition of persons for criminal prosecution or execution of a sentence.
It is stipulated that the extradition of suspects and defendants must proceed in accordance with the laws of the parties if their actions "are criminal and punishable by imprisonment for at least 1 year or a more severe penalty." The extradition will be denied if the crime for which extradition is requested is punishable by the death penalty under the law of the requesting party. The exceptions will be those cases in which that party "provides a sufficient guarantee, in the opinion of the requested party, that the person whose extradition is requested will not be subject to the death penalty".
If necessary, the requesting party may apply for temporary custody of the person prior to the submission of the extradition request.
The Treaty on mutual assistance in criminal matters seeks to increase the effectiveness of cooperation between the parties in combating crime. The treaty regulates the obligations of the parties to provide legal assistance, its scope, refusal or postponement of legal assistance. In particular, legal assistance may be refused if its execution could damage the sovereignty, security and public order of the requested party. The document also regulates the procedure for initiating criminal proceedings at the request of one of the parties.
Both documents were signed by the parties in St. Petersburg on June 29, 2022. The documents were submitted for ratification by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 4.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS