The Complexities Of Extradition Between Afghanistan And The United States

Afghanistan does not have an extradition treaty with the US. This means that it will not extradite individuals who are wanted by the US government. There are a significant number of countries that do not have extradition treaties with the US, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The absence of an extradition treaty does not necessarily preclude extradition, but it makes it more difficult.

Afghanistan does not have an extradition treaty with the US

The United States has extradition treaties with over a hundred nations, but there are many countries with which it has no extradition treaty. The US does not have an extradition treaty with Afghanistan. This means that a person suspected of or convicted of a crime in the US, but who made it to Afghanistan, cannot be apprehended and forced to return to the US to face trial or punishment.

The absence of an extradition treaty does not, however, prevent the US from acquiring personal jurisdiction over a fugitive by other means. For example, the US has in the past encouraged other countries to surrender fugitives other than their own nationals without requiring recourse to extradition. The US has also had some success in removing aliens under immigration law, which has traditionally been considered a practice distinct from extradition.

Extradition is the formal surrender of a person by a State to another State for prosecution or punishment

Extradition treaties are in the nature of a contract and outline the specific offenses for which a person can and cannot be extradited from that country. For example, the U.S. could not extradite draft dodgers from Canada during the Vietnam era because draft evasion was not listed as an extraditable offense on the U.S./Canada extradition treaty.

Extradition is triggered by a request submitted through diplomatic channels. In the United States, it proceeds through the Departments of Justice and State and may be presented to a federal magistrate to order a hearing to determine whether the request is in compliance with an applicable treaty. If so, the magistrate certifies the case for extradition at the discretion of the Secretary of State.

The laws of the country of refuge and the applicable extradition treaty govern extradition back to the United States of a fugitive located overseas. Requests travel through diplomatic channels, and the treaty issue most likely to arise after extradition is whether the extraditee has been tried for crimes other than those for which they were extradited.

The fact that extradition was ignored and a fugitive forcibly returned to the United States for trial does not constitute a jurisdictional impediment to trial or punishment. Federal and foreign immigration laws sometimes serve as an alternative to extradition to and from the United States.

Extradition treaties are in the nature of a contract and outline the specific offenses for which a person can and cannot be extradited

Extradition treaties are agreements between countries to surrender individuals who are wanted for criminal prosecution or sentencing in the requesting country. The United States has extradition treaties with over a hundred countries. However, some countries do not have extradition treaties with the United States, including Afghanistan.

Extradition treaties are specific to any two countries and outline the process of requesting and processing an extradition between the two countries. Treaties signed in recent decades tend to take a "dual criminality" approach, classifying as extraditable all crimes that are punishable in both jurisdictions. For instance, the treaty between Albania and the United States, signed in 1933, includes an inventory of more than two dozen crimes, including murder, rape, arson, and burglary. Many extradition treaties only allow extradition for crimes that carry a punishment of more than one year.

Treaties also define instances when extradition is to be denied. For instance, authorities generally cannot extradite individuals for military or political offenses, with exceptions for terrorism and other violent acts. Some states will not extradite to jurisdictions with capital punishment or life imprisonment under any circumstances, or unless the requesting authority pledges not to impose those penalties.

Other common provisions deal with nationality (many states will not extradite their own citizens, or will only do so on a limited basis), double jeopardy, statutes of limitations, administrative expenses, legal representation, and transfer of evidence.

The US has extradited people from Afghanistan for narco-terrorism offenses

In 2008, Khan Mohammed, a member of an Afghan Taliban cell, was sentenced to life in prison in the US for drug and narco-terrorism charges. He was arrested on October 29, 2006, near Jalalabad, Nangahar Province, Afghanistan, and waived extradition.

The US has extradition treaties with over 100 nations

The United States has extradition treaties with over 100 countries. However, Afghanistan is not one of them.

Extradition treaties are agreements between countries to surrender individuals who are wanted for criminal prosecution or sentencing in the requesting country. The United States has signed such treaties with many countries around the world. However, some countries do not have extradition treaties with the United States, which means that they will not extradite individuals who are wanted by the U.S. government.

Afghanistan is one of the countries that do not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. This means that Afghanistan will not extradite individuals who are wanted by the U.S. government. The absence of an extradition treaty between the two countries can create complications in the extradition process, as geopolitical and legal issues may influence extradition decisions even in countries with treaties.

The United States currently has extradition treaties with 107 or 116 countries worldwide, depending on the source. The first U.S. extradition treaty was with Ecuador, which came into force in 1873. The most recent U.S. extradition treaty is with Croatia, which came into force in 2022.

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