Governmental abuse of extradition

The demand for extradition may be the consequence of the existence of special agreements concluded between the states concerned. Governments may exploit extradition arrangements to obtain an individual by lying about their intentions concerning trial and punishment.

Some countries may add one or several alleged previous offences, criminal or political, to the charges against the prisoner mentioned in the extradition request. Others may assure that punishment will not exceed that provided by the extraditing nation's legislation for similar offences, but following on condemnation and judgement of the criminal they may exact or unusual punishment or even the death penalty.

In 1992, the USA Supreme Court refused to block the extraordinary powers of US US agents to kidnap and forcibly abduct foreign nationals from their own countries to stand trial in American courts, likely to be in contravention of international law. The ruling was in respect of the kidnapping of a Mexican drug trafficker, but also gives retrospective legality to the seizure by the USA of the Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to stand trial in Miami, and the 1987 capture of a Lebanese terrorist on the high seas in the Mediterranean. Within the US, an attempt at extradiction by foreign government must go through the US courts.