We are a group of extradition lawyers in Panama with 15 years of experience in these matters. We know the extradition law and the process.
An issue that has caught my attention in recent years is requests for extradition between countries.
As a lawyer, I have had the opportunity to defend clients in cases where they were requested by other countries. There is something that is worrying me a little.
In addition to the Ministry of Relations, which determines whether an extradition request is viable or not, each country has its own institution.
But to be able to request an extradition between one country and another, the crime must be contemplated in the extradition treaty between both countries.
Many extradition treaties between countries are over 80 years old, so many of the crimes that exist today did not exist at the time.
One issue that strikes me is the sale of counterfeit medicines that come from countries like India and are sold in different countries.
United Nations conventions such as the one of 1988 have been created primarily to combat trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
There have been cases of Indian citizens being detained in different countries and whose extradition has been requested by various governments, and drug conventions or treaties are used; even the phrase «drug trafficking conspiracy» is mentioned in the files.
Drug trafficking means «drug trafficking.»
How can someone speak in a drug conspiracy file when there are no drugs in the file? They are mistakes that must be corrected. And how are these extradition requests from the different countries approved? Be careful, and we have not mentioned any specific country.
Drug conspiracy is one thing; on the other hand, when charges are imposed as an importer, When the citizens in India are truly exporters, and the difference between the two is significant, there must be a crime both in the requesting country and in the country where it was captured for it to be extradited; however, in most Latin American countries, including Panama, being an exporter is not considered a crime.
The issue of counterfeit drugs is an issue that different countries have been fighting in recent years in conjunction with Interpol. While the issue of counterfeit drugs is true, it is a very serious and delicate issue because it encompasses the health of society.
Counterfeit drugs are made in makeshift laboratories, are not regulated by the FDA or the health ministries of different countries, and do not meet quality standards.
There are several countries with a high production of counterfeit drugs, the majority of which are in Asia.India and China are the two largest producers of this type of medicine.
While this is correct, counterfeit drugs must be vigorously controlled, and this must be a state issue on which all governments must exert pressure. Some methods that are currently being used to capture exporters from these Asian countries for my concept will not solve a more serious global problem. Reasonably, grabbing four or five exporters of this type of fake medicine and subjecting them to an extradition process will not solve this serious problem. Because the companies that are dedicated to this are many, and this pandemic will not be solved with this.
To give an example, 40% of the drugs consumed in the United States come from India, so the drugs that are produced in this country have credibility.
What would happen if this pandemic grows to the point that all the citizens of this country and of the other countries that consume these drugs lose credibility?
India suffers because these drugs support a large portion of its economy.
Extradition requests must contain all the requirements both in substance and form in order to guarantee a fair process.
And the countries that receive the extradition request must pay attention to all the elements, both in form and substance, and determine if the extradition is feasible. because an innocent person may be being extradited.
If there is a detainee that I have seen suffer in my country, it is those detained for extradition cases. I even learned about the case of a German who died in prison before the end of his extradition process.
Detainees in extradition cases suffer a lot; they have to face two processes, one in the country where they are and the other in the requesting country.
If you have a family member detained in Panama and requested extradition, you can contact us. We will gladly study your case and prepare a plan for handling the case.
