JURIST - Paper Chase: EU judges reject US extradition request for Kosovo terror suspect

[JURIST] A panel of EU judges on Friday declined a request from US officials to extradite Kosovo terror suspect Bajram Asllani. Nicholas Hawton, a spokesperson for the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) [official website], stated that the panel ruled that the presented evidence of Asllani's involvement was insufficient and that the countries lack a standing extradition agreement [AP report]. The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina [official website] had based its request on an October 1901 treaty signed by the US and the former Kingdom of Serbia, but the panel found that the charges Asllani faces do not fall within the agreement's terms. Asllani was released following the judges' ruling.

Last month, US officials charged [press release] Asllani with providing support to terrorists and conspiring to murder and harm people abroad. He was arrested by Kosovo law enforcement, though released shortly thereafter and required only to report to police twice weekly [Reuters report]. If extradited and convicted, Asllani faced a maximum of 40 years imprisonment for his alleged role in a 2009 attempt to attack military personnel in Quantico, Virginia.