India, Turkey sign extradition treaty

By Kesava Menon

ANKARA, JUNE 29. India and Turkey today signed an extradition treaty whereby they are to cooperate in fighting crime and criminality. It was signed by the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, and Turkey's Justice Minister, Dr. Hikmet Sami Turk.

The treaty has 28 articles and mainly regulates the obligation of extradition, the definition of the offences for which extradition may be sought or granted, the circumstances and conditions on which a request may be denied and the procedures to be followed.

Under the agreement, extradition will be denied if the State to which the request has been made regards the offence in question as a political one. However, if the offence includes hijacking, murder, kidnapping, the use of explosives or incitement to murder it shall not be regarded political. Extradition can also be granted for offences of a fiscal character, including tax evasion and foreign exchange irregularities.

The agreement follows two legal instruments signed during the visit of the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, to this country in 1988.

The earlier instruments are The Agreement between India and Turkey on Mutual Legal Assistance concerning Criminal Matters and The Agreement between India and Turkey on Civil and Commercial Matters. The two agreements came into force in 1993.

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