Dear Editor,
According to 18 U.S. Code § 3195 – Payment of fees and costs (last updated January 2024: Reference Westlaw and LII Cornell University): “All costs or expenses incurred in any extradition proceeding in apprehending, securing, and transmitting a fugitive shall be paid by the demanding authority.
All witness fees and costs of every nature in cases of international extradition, including the fees of the magistrate judge, shall be certified by the judge or magistrate judge before whom the hearing shall take place to the Secretary of State of the United States, and the same shall be paid out of appropriations to defray the expenses of the judiciary or the Department of Justice as the case may be.
The Attorney General shall certify to the Secretary of State the amounts to be paid to the United States on account of said fees and costs in extradition cases by the foreign government requesting the extradition, and the Secretary of State shall cause said amounts to be collected and transmitted to the Attorney General for deposit in the Treasury of the United States”.
In addition, according to Article 13 of the 1931 extradition treaty between The UK and the U.S. which is still honoured by Guyana: “All expenses connected with the extradition shall be borne by the High Contracting Party making the application”.
Given the previous allegations made by the defendant concerning the President; the linkage between the dropping of the local charges and the Executive to further enable extradition; the current claims of political persecution (which attempts to link Article 6 of the treaty to the case); it is CRG’s recommendation that pre extradition costs be dealt with at arm’s length by our government so as to insulate the Executive from any perception of political persecution, and to ensure a fair and transparent process for both governments involved and the accused.