One of the Taiwanese investigated in Spain wins the trial against his extradition and puts the treaties with the Asian giant on the ropes
According to the Chinese agents who investigated his activities in Spain, Liu Hongtao was the capo of a Taiwanese mafia that was dedicated to fraud citizens in China by phone, from our country. For this reason, on December 8, 2016, Interpol published a red notice to arrest him. Supposedly to avoid his arrest, Liu traveled to Poland. But, on August 6, 2017, he was arrested, and 25 days later the Asian giant asked Warsaw for his extradition.
Aware that he could end up like the 219 compatriots that Spain extradited to China in 2019 despite the controversy caused by the case, Liu began a judicial odyssey to avoid facing a justice system without guarantees and controlled by the Government. From the Biaolęka detention center in Warsaw, where this man born in 1980 is still locked up, he argued before different courts that extradition would expose him to the risk of torture and that he would hardly receive a fair trial.
Despite the fact that Polish judges recognized that Liu could be sentenced in China to life in prison for telephone fraud, even the Polish Supreme Court approved his transfer to the communist country. So Liu fired the last round at him and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Now, the Strasbourg institution has agreed with him in a ruling that, unless appealed to the Grand Chamber, will become effective on January 6 and may have profound implications for the continent’s relations with the Asian giant. “They are going to mess it up,” advances José Antonio Martín Pallín, emeritus magistrate of the Supreme Court.
According to the unanimous opinion of the court, whose sentences are binding for the 46 countries that recognize it, extradition to China would violate human rights and is inadmissible. Specifically, the ECHR considers that it violates article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, since it would expose him to the risk of suffering torture during his detention. In addition, it considers that the five years that Liu has spent in prison represents an illegal detention, for which it grants him compensation of 6,000 euros. “This is the first time that the ECtHR has reviewed extraditions to China and, taking into account that Liu does not belong to any ethnic or religious minority, nor is he a political activist, we believe that his case will lead to all extradition requests being denied and that even the process of new petitions is blocked, ”analyzes the human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders.
PROCESSES WITHOUT GUARANTEES
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218 Taiwanese
they were extradited from Spain to China, something that the ECHR now considers inadmissible. -
€18,600
Liu Hongtao will receive compensation and expenses for his 5-year illegal imprisonment in Poland.
Other judicial sources consider it likely that the sentence will turn the current extradition treaties with China into a dead letter and point out that it leaves the Spanish justice system in a bad place, since it is shown that it violated the human rights of the Taiwanese extradited to the second world power. “Contact has been lost with some of them, not even their lawyers know where they are being held or in what conditions,” the NGO denounces. “Spain is one of the countries that extradites the most to China and one of the few Europeans in which we have no record that any request has been rejected,” emphasizes Safeguard Defenders.
Martín Pallín considers that Spain acted correctly in the case of the Taiwanese, although it could have invoked the principle of cruel sentences for duration, “due to the disproportion between those imposed in Spain and China”, to reject extraditions. In any case, he considers that the ECHR’s decision “is very risky and unwise” and is cautious about its consequences. “We will have to see the scope it has,” he adds.
phone fraud
The sentence covers both political dissidents and common criminals, such as Liu Hongtao
«The case of Liu against Poland makes it clear that extraditions to China must be processed under the presumption that the defendants will be ill-treated, contravening the prohibition of torture and degrading treatment. In principle, extradition is inadmissible, both in the case of dissidents and those who are not involved in political activities,” interprets Marcin Gorski, Liu’s pro bono lawyer, in an interview with EL CORREO.
Possible pressures
The lawyer does not foresee that the Polish Government will appeal the sentence, “especially since it has been taken unanimously and well reasoned.” However, he anticipates that China will be upset, something that Martín Pallín considers “more than justified”, and that it will pressure the Polish leaders to do so. “It is something that cannot be ruled out if the decision is made based not only on legal reasons but also on other policies,” Gorski fires.
When asked if this sentence is a carte blanche for criminals who attack the interests or citizens of the Asian giant, the lawyer categorically denies: «There is no impediment for them to be investigated and prosecuted in Europe. China should sincerely and effectively cooperate with the international community to raise its level of protection of fundamental rights so that they stand up to international scrutiny. This is the responsibility of the Chinese government. The ball is in your roof”.
The sentence comes at a time of maximum tension due to the revelation that China operates more than fifty clandestine “police stations” in different parts of the world – Spain, with nine, is the country with the largest number – with the aim of intimidating alleged criminals to return to their country and face justice there, an issue revealed by Safeguard Defenders and confirmed by this newspaper that is causing a diplomatic storm in different countries.
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