Kazakhstan Parliament ratifies extradition agreement with Italy

The Kazakhstan Parliament has ratified the Agreement on Extradition of Convicts between Kazakhstan and Italy, Tengrinews reports from the plenary meeting of the Senate, the upper chamber of the Kazakhstan Parliament.

"The agreement regulates the issues related to transfer of sentenced persons (in Kazakhstan and Italy) between the two countries for further serving of their terms in their homeland," Senate Committee for Constitutional Legislation, Judicial System and Law Enforcement said.

The interstate treaty on extradition of convicted criminals was signed back in November 2013 as part of the package of reforms to humanize the Kazakh penal system and in an effort to enhance legal protection of the citizens abroad.

With this agreement in effect, the Kazakh nationals sentenced in Italy will be able to serve their sentences in their homeland and visa versa. The document provides for extradition not only of convicts, but also of those who are criminally prosecuted.

There is a number of conditions that have to be met for a convicted person to be transferred to his or her home country: the remaining prison term may not shorter than one year at the time when the extradition request is made, the convict or his/her legal representative should give written consent to the transfer, the crime the person is sentenced for should be recognized as a crime in the requesting country in accordance with its legislation, and finally, both countries should agree to make the transfer.

Both countries have a right to refuse the extradition request if that transfer undermines their sovereignty, security, public order, or contradicts the legislation and national interests.

Each country is eligible to grant pardon, amnesty or other types of commutation of the sentence of the convicted person in accordance with its legislation, provided that the other country is notified about the commutation.

However, the treaty would not guarantee that every Italian convicted in Kazakhstan would get a transfer back home. In accordance with the treaty, Italy will have to adjust the sentence given in Kazakhstan to its legislation before the extradition. If, for example, a court in Kazakhstan sentences an Italian national to 8 years in prison and the Italian courts gives 5 years for the same crime, then Kazakhstan would not transfer the criminal to Italy, because the punishment for the same felony is incommensurable.

According to the terms of the agreement, the country requesting the extradition incurs all the related costs.

There are currently no Italians in Kazakh prisons and no Kazakhs in Italian prisons.

Kazakhstan has already signed extradition treaties with Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, China, Turkey and Spain.

Reporting by Altynai ZhumZhumina, writing by Assel Satubaldina