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German law blocks eu extradition of german { July 19 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0507190242jul19,1,3292860.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hedhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0507190242jul19,1,3292860.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Germany voids EU warrant for terror suspect
By Richard Bernstein
New York Times News Service
Published July 19, 2005
BERLIN -- In a ruling seen as a sharp blow to coordinated counterterrorism efforts in Europe, Germany's highest court on Monday refused to turn over a citizen suspected of aiding Al Qaeda to Spain, arguing that a recent European agreement to streamline extradition procedures violated the rights of German citizens.
The case involves Mamoun Darkazanli, 46, a German of Syrian origin suspected by Spanish authorities and independent experts on terrorism of having provided logistical and financial support to Al Qaeda.
Darkazanli, who runs a trading company in Germany, is pictured on a videotape at a wedding in Hamburg in 1999 attended by two of the pilot-hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Using the new European procedure, Judge Baltazar Garzon of Spain issued a warrant against Darkazanli last year, accusing him of being the "permanent interlocutor and assistant" in Europe for Al Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden.
But Monday the German Constitutional Court declared the law that created the European warrant void, even though the law was ratified by the German parliament in November. The court reasoned that the law infringed on every German citizen's right, enshrined in this country's Basic Law, to a hearing in a court in Germany before extradition can take place.
The ruling will surely be seen as a setback in a Europe, still reeling from the terrorist attacks in London this month, that has closer coordination to prevent terrorism at the top of the public agenda.
"He must be set free following this ruling, which is a blow for the government in its efforts and fight against terrorism," said Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries, referring to Darkazanli.
Darkazanli, who was interrogated by German investigators for several months after the Sept. 11 attacks, has denied any terrorist activity, saying he was a businessman who knew members of the Al Qaeda cell in Germany only "by sight."
"The Darkazanli case is very important," said Daniel Keohane, a security expert at the Center for European Reform in London, "first because it involves an alleged Al Qaeda connection, and second because it raises questions about whether the European arrest warrant can work at all."
The European arrest warrant was enacted by European Union members early in 2002. It allows prosecutors in any member country to request extradition of a person accused in any of about 30 areas of criminal activity from another member without bureaucratic delay or restrictions.
"One argument was that in a modern world where terrorism crosses borders without restrictions, we needed modern methods that would overcome the traditional high national frontiers to law enforcement," said Hugo Brady, a terrorism expert also at the Center for European Reform. "So if a country's authorities issue a European arrest warrant, the person has to be extradited immediately, with very little room for objection."
The German court stepped into the Darkazanli case in November and blocked the extradition at the 11th hour. An account in the magazine Der Spiegel said the court's injunction had arrived when Darkazanli was seated in the helicopter that was to have taken him from a detention center in Hamburg to the airport and a flight to Spain under escort of two Spanish marshals.
Since then, the court's ruling has been awaited as an important test not just of the European warrant but of the larger principle that once the European Union has enacted a law and a member has ratified it, the European law takes priority over national laws, whether in the realm of criminal procedure or agricultural subsidies.
The warrant has been used frequently since it came into general use last year, including cases involving crimes like drug trafficking, child abuse and war crimes.
But the case of Darkazanli has been complicated, in part because German investigators haven't found sufficient evidence to put him on trial.
In arguing before the German court, Darkazanli's lawyers contended that if Darkazanli's actions were deemed lawful in Germany, extraditing him to Spain for the same actions would render German criminal laws meaningless.
"It's a dark day for the terrorist hunter," said a German counterterrorism expert, Rolf Tophoven. "We need new laws to fight terror because otherwise we will create the impression that German law is protecting militant Islamists."
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
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