Archives for November 2017

Efforts on behalf of the United States to extend the U.N. Security Council investigation into the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government came to an abrupt halt on Thursday, November 16th, when Russia vetoed the resolution that the US had put forth in order to extend the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) for another year, according to the Washington Post. Without the resolution, the JIM effectively expired on midnight of the same day. The decision to veto this resolution is one of ten separate actions that Russia has taken to shield its ally, the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, from the consequences of its use of chemical weapons on civilians. The purpose of the JIM was to investigate whether al-Assad’s government was behind the attack on a Syrian village in April, which has become more difficult, although not impossible, now that the body has disbanded.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has acknowledged that the investigation may be continued by other fact-finding entities such as the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, but is nevertheless angered by Russian attempts to impede efforts to get to the bottom of the crisis. She commented that the Russia veto was a “deep blow” to the investigation and its efforts to hold those responsible accountable. She warned that the United States government is on standby to intervene if there are any further attacks, the same way they did back in April when they launched an array of Tomahawks at the military airbase that the planes carrying the weapons had departed from. “As we did in April, we will do it again if we must,” Haley stated.

Russia is defending its actions by claiming that it is in favor of extending the investigation but insists there must be certain changes first. The Russian government reportedly took offense at a report published by the JLM in October that blamed the Syrian military for the attack in April on the village of Khan Sheikhoun that resulted in the deaths of over 90 civilians. Russia referred to the findings as “amateurish”, since the investigators had never visited the site in question and had instead relied on evidence from photos, interviews, and analyzed soil samples. The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, concluded that the investigators were biased against the Syrian government and drafted his own resolution for the purpose of remedying these flaws. Due to a lack of votes, the resolution failed to pass.

The back and forth between the respective UN ambassadors from Russia and the United States is a continuation of the increasing divide that the Syria issue has created between these two countries. President Trump, despite his reportedly friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, took to Twitter hours before the vote to urge the renewal of JLM, adding that it was necessary “to ensure that Assad Regime does not commit mass murder with chemical weapons ever again.” When the resolution failed to pass, scathing criticism poured in from ambassadors to the United States and other allied countries. Nikki Haley offered perhaps the most poignant censure, stating that it was a shame “that Russia has revealed itself to have allegiances to the Syrian regime, not to the truth or the protection of innocent victims.”

Spain’s state prosecutor has requested that a national high court issue a European arrest warrant for deposed Catalan president Carlos Puigdemont for his failure to return to Madrid to testify before the national court, the Guardian reported this morning.

Spain’s national court had summoned Carlos Puigdemont to testify with regards to the Catalan parliament’s declaration of independence from Spain last Friday. Puigdemont and 13 members of his administration face possible charges of rebellion, sedition, and misuse of public funds.

On Monday, just hours after Spanish officials announced that they intended to prosecute leaders of the Catalan separatist movement on rebellion charges, the Spanish press reported that Puigdemont, along with several other Catalan ministers, had arrived in Belgium. Speculation ensued that Puigdemont intended to seek political asylum from Brussels. The ousted president refuted the claims at a Tuesday press conference.

As several senior members of his administration, among them the speaker of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell, and five other deputies arrived in Madrid to testify at a Thursday morning hearing, Puigdemont remained in Belgium. His attorney, Paul Bekaert, emphasized that his client would cooperate with Spanish and Belgian authorities if asked.

The Belgian government has extended no overtures to Puigdemont thus far. “He will be treated like any other European citizen,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel stressed in a statement. “He has the same rights and duties… no more, no less.” EU citizens can apply for political asylum in Belgium, but such cases are rare. Only 49 such applications were filed last year, according to the Financial Times.

Does the EAW Apply to Political Crimes?

The Council Framework Decision of June 13, 2002, the document establishing the legal basis of the European arrest warrant, states that EU Member States have an obligation to execute an EAW issued by a fellow Member State “on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition.”

The Framework Decision also notes grounds for exceptions to this obligation, however. In particular, the decision explicitly states that it does not prohibit Member States from refusing to surrender a person “for whom a European arrest warrant has been issued when there are reasons to believe, on the basis of objective elements, that the said arrest warrant has been issued for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on the grounds of his or her sex, race, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, language, political opinions or sexual orientation, or that that person’s position may be prejudiced for any of these reasons.”

Puigdemont faces an uphill legal battle to demonstrate to Brussels that he would not be guaranteed a fair trial or subject to discrimination in Spain.  While discrimination on the basis of political opinion may be grounds for non-execution of the EAW, serious criminal charges of a political nature, such as rebellion and sedition, are usually extraditable offenses.