Hands Off Cain
NEWS ARCHIVE·DEATH PENALTY·SEPTEMBER 22, 2004

The Australian Government rejected claims it would...

The Australian Government rejected claims it would extradite terror suspects to the US where they could face the death penalty

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The Australian Government rejected claims it would extradite terror suspects to the US where they could face the death penalty.
A spokesman for Justice Minister Chris Ellison said Australia had not abandoned the longstanding practice of refusing to extradite suspects who could face the death penalty, unless that penalty was waived. The Australian Council for Civil Liberties had called on the federal government to confirm any change in policy.
Council president Terry O'Gorman said Australia had a long standing practice of not extraditing people if they could face the death penalty.
"We're going to find the risk that an Australian could be sent to the US, tried for terrorism, convicted then executed, and later down the track found to have been the (victim of a) miscarriage of justice," he said.
Senator Ellison's spokesman said an international arrangement for air security officers (ASOs) on aircraft did not change extradition requirements.
He said the Extradition Act clearly provided that a person could not be extradited where an offence was punishable by death unless the other country agreed the death penalty would not be imposed or carried out.
SOURCES
  • (Sources: Herald Sun, 22/09/2004)