Kazakhstan to sign agreements on extradition with five countries
"It is basically a standard agreement. And, as of today, Kazakhstan has concluded 18 bilateral agreements with foreign countries. There are two multilateral conventions within the CIS, Minsk and Chisinau. In the near future, we plan to sign similar international agreements with Brazil, Jordan, Macedonia, Greece, and Portugal," he said during the Majilis plenary session, presenting the draft law "On Ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Extradition."
The Agreement with the Middle Eastern country was signed on October 25, 2006, in Riyadh within the framework of President Nazarbayev's visit to Saudi Arabia. It regulates requests for extradition of persons for criminal prosecution or the execution of court decisions for the commission of a crime. The agreement provides grounds for granting or denying it.
Extradition is not carried out if it is requested on a military or political offence, if the statute of limitations has expired, if it may damage sovereignty, national security, public order or other interests, or contradicts the Constitution, for the offense of which extradition is requested or if the person has been sentenced in the country it is requested from, the extradition is requested for the purpose of criminal prosecution or punishment of a person on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, social status, ethnicity or political convictions.
According to Mr. Lukin, currently, there are individuals hiding from Kazakh justice in Saudi Arabia or vice versa. But, considering the preventive nature of the Agreement, it may create a good legal basis for effective cooperation between the two countries in the fight against crime.