Will expedite decision on Gupta’s extradition to US: Czech official in Pannun assassination plot case

The matter has now been referred to the Czech Minister of Justice for a final call, Markéta Andrová, spokesperson of the Czech Ministry of Justice said.

“All criminal cases in which the person concerned is held in custody, including cases of extradition to a foreign country, shall be dealt with most expeditiously without undue delay,” said Andrová. However, the spokesperson added that according to the applicable laws of Czech Republic, no exact time limit is provided for the decision of Minister of Justice.

Gupta had challenged the decisions of the two lower courts before the Constitutional Court on the ground that these courts had not examined all the relevant circumstances that could prevent his extradition, including political nature of the crime he is accused of.

Andrová said that “the Constitutional Court rejected the complaint lodged by Nikhil Gupta as prima facie unfounded”. It decided the lower courts had thoroughly examined the extradition documents provided by the US authorities and based their decisions on sufficient evidence.

As for Gupta’s argument on the political nature of the crime that he is accused of and its implications for the extradition request, Abbasi said, “In the Czech system of criminal law, it is not possible to raise new argumentation (for the first time) in the constitutional complaint – it is required to submit all the argumentation already before the district and municipal courts, which Mr. Gupta did not. Therefore, his argumentation concerning the political subtext of his case included in the constitutional complaint failed.”

Abbasi added, “However, the Constitutional Court states that neither the charge, nor the description of the offence, nor the legal qualification is indicative of a political context as alleged by the complainant. The alleged political and military dimension of the complainant’s act cannot be a reason that would prevent the extradition of Mr. Gupta. The complainant is not a political activist and the act was not aimed at changing the order of things.”

Initially, the Czech Republic top court stayed the lower courts’ decisions permitting the extradition of Gupta, citing no significant harm to public interest if this action is delayed. In its interim decision dated January 30, 2024, the Constitutional Court in Prague said Gupta’s extradition to the US for criminal prosecution would result in disproportionately greater harm to him than anyone else. Further, it emphasised that this action would be irreversible, even if it upholds Gupta’s challenge.

However, as per the Ministry of Justice, the court finally didn’t find any circumstance that the extradition would violate his fundamental rights.

“The Court did not find any circumstance for which the decision on the admissibility of the extradition would constitute a violation of any of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Czech Republic,” Androva said. Gupta was transferred to solitary confinement in Pankrác prison after Czech authorities were alerted by the US that there was a threat to his life.