PERU
Extradition of Chinese
Citizen at Risk of Death Penalty Halted
By Ángel Páez
LIMA, May 31, 2010 (IPS) - Peru will not
extradite Wong Ho Wing, a Chinese
citizen wanted by the courts in his
country for a crime that carries the
death penalty, until the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights rules on his case,
according to a letter from the
government to which IPS had exclusive
access.
The Peruvian government officially
informed China in a letter addressed to
Ambassador Zhao Wuyi that it will not
hand Wong over until the Costa
Rica-based Court, part of the
Organisation of American States' (OAS)
human rights system, reaches a decision
on Wong's petition for provisional
measures.
Provisional measures are used by the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights to
prevent irreparable harm to the rights
and freedoms of persons who are in a
situation of extreme gravity and
urgency, including aliens under orders
of deportation or extradition and those
sentenced to capital punishment.
Wong, a businessman living in Lima with
his wife and two children, was arrested
at Lima airport Oct. 27, 2008 when he
was about to leave the country. He faces
charges in China of money laundering and
bribery as well as customs tax fraud, a
capital crime under Chinese law.
The Peruvian Justice Ministry and
Supreme Court agreed to China's
extradition request, in spite of the
international conventions Peru has
signed prohibiting the handing over of
citizens to countries where they may
face execution.
The Peruvian authorities were satisfied
by a letter from China's Supreme
People's Court containing assurances
that Wong would not be sentenced to
death if found guilty.
Wong's defence lawyers appealed to the
Washington-based Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR),
another OAS body.
On Mar. 25, when Wong was about to be
sent back to China, the executive
secretary of the IACHR, Santiago Cantón,
informed Peru that the Inter-American
Court had requested suspension of the
extradition process until it had reached
a ruling on the Chinese citizen's
request for precautionary measures.
The Peruvian government of President
Alan García complied with the Court's
request.
In a letter dated Apr. 6, Chinese
ambassador Zhao protested against Peru's
decision, reminding the authorities of
the extradition treaty in force between
China and Peru.
On Apr. 26 María Landaveri, a senior
official at the Foreign Ministry with
responsibility for Asia, the Pacific,
Africa and the Middle East, replied to
ambassador Zhao explaining the procedure
followed by Peru in this case.
Landaveri wrote to ambassador Zhao "at
the special request of the President
(Alan García)," saying that at first the
executive branch of Peru had arrested
Wong and initiated the extradition
process requested by China in accordance
with national laws and the extradition
treaty signed by both countries.
Wong then appealed to the Inter-American
Court to try to block his extradition,
according to the Peruvian diplomat, who
thus made it clear that the government
had done what it could to extradite
Wong.
"This Chinese citizen has made use of
the guarantees of due process under
Peruvian law, and has appealed to a
supranational body, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, the
international competence of which is
recognised by Peru," Landaveri told
Zhao.
"The Inter-American Court has taken
urgent measures requiring the Peruvian
state to refrain from extraditing Mr.
Wong Ho Wing until his application for
provisional measures has been decided on
by the Court in full session," she
added.
Landaveri said in her letter that "the
right and proper course of action is for
Peru to wait for the final verdict of
this body (the Inter-American Court) in
order to make a final decision in this
case."
Wong's defence lawyer took the view that
the letter shows that Lima is making
every effort to satisfy the Chinese
government, with which it signed a free
trade agreement on Apr. 28, 2009.
"The letter from the Foreign Ministry
shows that the Peruvian government was
in favour of the extradition at all
times, in spite of the fact that the
death penalty is prohibited in the
Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, as well as by the Peruvian
constitution," Wong's lawyer, Luis Lamas
Puccio, told IPS.
The government is basically "apologising
to the Chinese ambassador for not being
able to extradite him (Wong) yet,
showing that from the beginning it had
promised to do so. This means that even
the justice system bent over backwards
to hand him over," he said.
"Mr. Ambassador, the government of the
People's Republic of China must be
assured that Peru, while fully complying
with the legislation in force on this
matter, has absolutely no wish to cast
the slightest shadow on the excellent
bilateral relations between the two
countries," the letter says.
On Mar. 31, 2009, Cantón wrote to
President García alerting him to the
fact that extradition of a citizen to a
country where he faces the death penalty
is inadmissible under Inter-American
law.
"(I request) that you refrain from
extraditing Mr. Wong Ho Wing until such
time as the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights reaches a decision on the
petition made on his behalf," the IACHR
executive secretary wrote at that time.
But García, as confirmed by the recent
letter to the Chinese ambassador, chose
to continue the extradition process,
which was only stopped when the
Inter-American Court issued urgent
measures on Wong's behalf. |
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