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Polish Ombudsman wants to cancel extradition agreement with Belarus

Photo: Cezary Aszkielowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Polish Ombudsman Marcin Wiacek appealed to Polish Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar with a request to study the expediency of terminating the agreement allowing the extradition of Belarusians to their homeland.

We are talking about a bilateral Agreement on legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family, labor and criminal matters, which regulates, among other things, the extradition of citizens for the purpose of criminal prosecution and serving a sentence. Poland and Belarus signed this agreement in 1994, but it can be reviewed every five years. The next deadline for Poland to do this is 2025.

In his address, Marcin Wiacek, referring to the reports of many human rights organizations, explains that the human rights situation in Belarus is constantly deteriorating. The appeal mentions numerous arbitrary arrests of Belarusians, torture and ill-treatment by security forces, including sexual violence, deprivation of the rights to a fair trial, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, etc.

Meanwhile, the Polish Ombudsman notes that Polish legislation and international law prohibit extradition if there are reasonable fears that the freedoms and rights of the extradited person may be violated in the country requesting extradition.

In his appeal, Wiacek recalls cases when the Polish Minister of Justice refused to extradite Belarusian citizens, although the courts recognized it as lawful.

The Polish Ombudsman noted that the practice of recent years has shown that international cooperation with Belarus causes increasing risks, “therefore, it should be considered that Poland may need to terminate the agreement, at least in terms of legal assistance in criminal cases.”