The Constitutional Court of Montenegro accepted the constitutional appeal of Wang Shuiming (X) and overturned the decision of the Court of Appeals, which decided that the conditions for his extradition to China (Y) were met, and returned the case for retrial and decision.
The constitutional court proceedings established that the Appellate and High Courts gave full credence to China's convictions that, in the event of extradition, it would respect all of the defendant Shuiming's rights, that he would have the right to protection from torture, the right to a fair trial and respect for other human rights, and found his claims regarding the alleged risk of ill-treatment to be unfounded.
"Convictions alone are not sufficient. The courts did not conduct any, let alone a rigorous, verification of the defendant's allegations regarding the risk of being subjected to abuse in 'Y'," the Constitutional Court's decision states.
The constitutional judges conclude that the courts, instead of conducting a substantive analysis of Shuiming's fear of ill-treatment if extradited, limited themselves to examining the formal conditions for extradition, giving absolute primacy to the international obligation to extradite China over the protection of his rights.
"The Constitutional Court notes that the assessment of the domestic courts did not include an analysis of the numerous reports by United Nations bodies and other international organizations (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House) on the situation in the 'Y' detention centers, which were readily available," the court's decision states, adding:
"All independent reports point to many significant shortcomings in domestic legislation and possible abuses in the 'Y' penal system, which the European Court of Human Rights has equated with the existence of a general situation of violence."
The Appellate and High Courts in Podgorica issued rulings in September that the legal requirements for his extradition to China had been met. His extradition was requested for the purpose of conducting criminal proceedings on suspicion that he had violated the laws there by opening a casino, which is treated as a criminal offense. On October 1, the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended his extradition pending a final decision.
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