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| Britain |
| Parliament holds emergency debate on extradition |
| 2006-07-12 |
| Britain's lower house of parliament will hold an emergency debate on Wednesday on the case of three former bankers, just hours before they are due to be extradited to face trial in the United States. MPs will focus attention on an extradition treaty which critics say is unfair because America does not have to provide evidence to support a request for extradition of suspects from Britain. The three men -- David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby -- worked for NatWest bank, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland, and have been dubbed the "NatWest Three" by British media. They face fraud charges related to the collapsed energy company Enron. Theirs is the first high-profile case under a new extradition treaty with the U.S. in force since January 2004, designed to speed up extradition of terrorism suspects. Critics say the law lacks balance because while the U.S. can seek extradition without having to present evidence to a British court, Britain has to provide more evidence to the U.S. before being allowed to extradite suspects from there. Alun Jones, a lawyer for the three, described the treaty as "draconian" and "deliberately designed to be lopsided". "The real question ... here is what business is it of the United States to be prosecuting three UK citizens accused of defrauding their own bank in London when that bank has never alleged it's been defrauded and never commenced criminal proceedings," he said on BBC radio. Wednesday's parliamentary debate comes too late to have any effect on the case of the NatWest Three, who are due to be handed over to U.S. marshals at London's Gatwick Airport on Thursday and put on a flight to Houston, Texas. Washington's ambassador to London, Robert Tuttle, defended the extradition arrangements, insisting they were broadly equal. "The evidentiary standards are roughly the same ... and that is how it should be," he told BBC radio. Tuttle also said he was "optimistic" that the treaty, which has yet to be approved by the U.S. legislators, would be ratified sometime this year. Pressure groups, business leaders and Britain's opposition Conservative Party have sought to intervene and have the NatWest Three prosecuted in Britain, but the government has said there is no basis to stop the extradition. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #1 Yet they've gotten the sign off from every level of the British judiciary, which I presume is no more conservative than our own. I must admit to being somewhat confused about this. Some great handwaving going on. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-07-12 07:50 |