This Tuesday, the Criminal Chamber of the National Court held an extradition hearing to decide whether to extradite to the Dominican Republic a Spanish woman, a lawyer by profession, who is accused of child abduction. She allegedly transported children illegally from the Caribbean country to Spain after they had been taken from their families. The defendant has denied the charges and has requested not to be extradited.
The modus operandi described in the indictment by the Prosecutor’s Office is as follows: The criminal structure faked that the children had been abused in the Dominican Republic, therefore asylum was sought for their protection in Spain. The lawyer would have entered the country “in January 2023 to plan and finance the transfer of the children who were rescued (…) when she tried to take them to Spain.”
“There is evidence of money transfers made from Spain by Carmen H.M. for the defendant (…), and she also paid for the plane tickets” for the minors involved in trafficking, explains the Public Ministry, which asserts that she was the one who provided them shelter in Spain “removing them from their biological families”.
The issue of extradition
Apart from the Spanish woman, there are four other defendants in the case, all located in the Latin American country. Therefore, the Prosecutor’s Office has requested their extradition to the country, as they believe it does not make sense for her to be tried in a separate hearing in Spain. Furthermore, the case is much more advanced in the Dominican Republic, being only pending the trial’s celebration, and all essential evidence is there, such as the affected minors and the expert witnesses.
This move could be possible, as according to the doctrine of the National Court, it is possible to extradite Spanish nationals requested by countries with which Spain has signed extradition treaties, such as the Dominican Republic, evaluating the circumstances of each case.
An “innocent” victim
The defense of the lawyer is primarily based on the argument that she did not commit the crime, claiming that she is only an “innocent” victim. She simply dedicated herself to helping the children by providing them with food and donations as she routinely did with various organizations, according to her lawyer, Gonzalo Boye.
To oppose her extradition, a series of arguments have been presented. On one hand, they argue that it could not be carried out, claiming that the treaty with the Dominican Republic refers to Spanish law, which according to constitutional jurisprudence, prevents the extradition of a Spanish national in this case. Additionally, they state that if she were to be extradited, there would be no guarantee that she could continue her medical treatment in the Dominican Republic, putting her right to life at risk, as well as the rights of a minor, like her child, whom she had through surrogacy.
Boye also stated that his client has received threats “from people in the Dominican Republic” to stop her from defending herself, which also puts her physical integrity at risk.
In any case, the lawyer estimated that the extradition procedure should be suspended while the Supreme Court resolves the appeal that has been filed against the Council of Ministers’ agreement, which gave the green light for it to continue its judicial path. To this end, he provided documentation showing that the Supreme Court has accepted for processing the appeal, in which he argues that the Council of Ministers “erred in the facts and the law it applies”.
