Belarus-Us Extradition: What Are The Chances?

Belarus and the United States do not have an extradition treaty, meaning that the United States cannot gain custody of defendants unless they travel to a country that does have an extradition treaty with the US. This has been a point of tension between the two nations, with the US indicting Belarusian citizens on various charges, including aircraft piracy and assaulting police officers.

The US does not have an extradition treaty with Belarus

The absence of an extradition treaty between the two countries can have significant implications for individuals facing criminal charges. In the case of Evan Neumann, he was able to evade arrest and prosecution by fleeing to a country without an extradition treaty with the US. This highlights the importance of extradition treaties in holding individuals accountable for their actions across international borders.

The lack of an extradition treaty between the US and Belarus can also impact diplomatic relations between the two countries. Extradition treaties are often seen as a sign of cooperation and mutual respect between nations. The absence of such a treaty can indicate strained or tense relations. In the case of Belarus, the US has levied multiple sanctions against the country due to human rights abuses and its violent crackdown on dissent. The absence of an extradition treaty could be indicative of these tense relations.

Furthermore, the lack of an extradition treaty can impact the enforcement of international law and the prosecution of individuals for international crimes. For example, in the case of Ryanair Flight 4978, which was forced to divert to Minsk, Belarus, due to a false bomb threat, the US indicted several Belarusian officials for conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy. However, without an extradition treaty, the US is unlikely to gain custody of these individuals unless they travel to a country that has an extradition treaty with the US. This demonstrates the challenges of enforcing international law when extradition treaties are not in place.

Overall, the absence of an extradition treaty between the US and Belarus has significant implications for individuals facing criminal charges, diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the enforcement of international law.

Belarus has been accused of aircraft piracy by the US

The United States and Belarus do not share an extradition treaty, making it unlikely that Belarus will extradite any of its citizens to the US. This was evident in the case of Evan Neumann, a US citizen who fled to Belarus and sought political asylum after being indicted on charges related to the Capitol riots.

Despite the absence of an extradition treaty, the US has recently charged four Belarusian officials with aircraft piracy for their involvement in the diversion of a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius in May 2021. The US Attorney's Office alleged that Belarusian authorities fabricated a bomb threat to force the plane to land in Minsk, where they arrested Raman Pratasevich, a dissident journalist, and his partner, Sofia Sapega. This incident sparked international outrage and resulted in sanctions imposed on Belarus by the US, EU, UK, and other countries.

The indictment filed by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged the Director General and Deputy Director General of the Belarusian state air navigation authority, along with two officers of the Belarusian state security services, with conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy. According to the US Department of Justice, this conspiracy violated international norms, US criminal law, and endangered the lives of four US citizens and other innocent passengers on board.

The US indictment contributes to the public narrative and showcases the country's intelligence-gathering abilities, aided by a Belarusian defector in the air traffic control tower during the incident. It also serves to deter individuals from engaging in unlawful conduct on behalf of authoritarian regimes. However, unless the indicted Belarusian officials travel to a country with an extradition treaty with the US, it is unlikely that the US will gain custody of them.

Belarus has been accused of forced diversion of a Ryanair flight

On 23 May 2021, Belarus was accused of 'hijacking' a Ryanair flight by forcing it to perform an emergency landing in Minsk, the country's capital, due to an alleged bomb threat. The plane, which was travelling from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, was carrying Roman Protasevich, an opposition blogger and activist critical of the country's authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko.

Protasevich, a former editor of the Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, was wanted by the Belarusian government for organising protests against Lukashenko in 2020. He had been living in exile in Lithuania, and the country had rejected a previous extradition request from Belarus.

According to Ryanair, the crew of the flight were notified by Belarusian air traffic controllers of a "potential security threat on board" and were instructed to divert the plane to Minsk. A Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane, which landed in Minsk after declaring an emergency. Upon landing, Protasevich was arrested by police and taken into custody, along with his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen.

The incident sparked international outrage, with many countries and organisations, including the European Union, NATO, the United Kingdom, and the United States, condemning the act as a violation of international law and an infringement of human rights. The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus, including banning Belarusian airlines from its airspace and implementing economic sanctions. The forced diversion of the Ryanair flight and the arrest of Protasevich and Sapega highlighted the tense political situation in Belarus and the government's crackdown on opposition figures and independent media.

US citizen Evan Neumann has been indicted on charges related to the Capitol Riot

US citizen Evan Neumann, 49, has been indicted on 14 criminal counts related to the Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021. The charges include assaulting police officers, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. Neumann was indicted in Washington on December 10, 2021, expanding on the charges initially filed against him in a criminal complaint in March.

Neumann is accused of assaulting law enforcement officers and threatening members of Congress during the breach of the U.S. Capitol. According to court documents and video footage, Neumann put on a gas mask while standing near law enforcement officers in front of the barricades at the base of the West Front of the Capitol Building. He then removed his mask and began verbally abusing the officers, stating that they would be "overrun" by the crowd and asking if they were "willing to die". Neumann is also accused of shoving a metal barricade into a line of officers and striking them with the barricade and his fist. He then broke down the barricades and used one as a battering ram to rush towards the officers. Neumann eventually entered the Capitol building and remained on restricted grounds past 5 p.m., despite repeated orders by law enforcement to leave.

Neumann fled the United States on February 16, 2021, and is currently believed to be in Belarus. In an interview with Belarusian television in November 2021, Neumann said he had followed his lawyer's advice and fled to Europe, staying in Switzerland and Italy before going to Ukraine for four months. In August 2021, he was detained by Belarusian border guards for illegally crossing the border from Ukraine. Neumann claimed he decided to seek political asylum in Belarus after Ukraine's security services started expressing interest in him.

The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Belarus, and the State Department has declined to comment on the case, citing privacy laws. Belarus's authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has used the Capitol Riot as a talking point, criticising the U.S. as "undemocratic" in its treatment of the rioters. Lukashenko has been accused of killing and jailing his political opponents and cracking down violently on mass protests.

Belarus has been accused of human rights abuses and violent crackdowns on dissent

During the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and protests, the number of political prisoners recognised by the Viasna Human Rights Centre rose dramatically to 1,062 as of 16 February 2022. Several people died after the use of unlawful and abusive force, including firearms, by law enforcement officials during the 2020 protests. According to Amnesty International, the authorities did not investigate violations during the protests but instead harassed those who challenged their version of events.

The Belarusian government has been accused of targeting and intimidating civil society activists and independent media. Two politicians, Syarhei Tsikhanouski and Viktar Babaryka, were jailed and faced politically motivated criminal proceedings. Hundreds of peaceful protesters, including their supporters, were arbitrarily arrested and heavily fined or held in "administrative detention". Belarusian security forces beat and detained peaceful protesters who participated in demonstrations against the official election outcome.

The Belarusian government has also been accused of targeting lawyers who defend victims of politically motivated prosecution. A human rights group reported that at least 10 lawyers were imprisoned, and more than 100 were disbarred or refused an extension of their licence in retaliation for performing their professional duties.

In addition to the violent crackdowns on dissent, Belarus has also been accused of human rights abuses against refugees and migrants. The Belarusian authorities have been accused of luring refugees and migrants to the country with false promises of easy passage into the EU, only to violently force them across EU borders, where they faced pushbacks and further human rights abuses.

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