The Seimas voted unanimously for all three contracts, with 110 MPs in favor of two of them, and 111 MPs in favor of the third. These treaties will enter into force upon their ratification by both states.
The agreement on mutual assistance in criminal cases creates a legal basis for the parties to provide mutual assistance to each other in connection with the investigation, prosecution and trial of criminal cases, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The extradition treaty provides for the transfer of persons suspected of, accused of, or already convicted of crimes under the conditions and procedure. The agreement on the transfer of convicts enshrines the possibility for convicts to serve a prison sentence in their own country, the conditions and procedure for the transfer of convicts are established.
During the deliberation of the ratification of the treaties in the Seimas, Minister of Justice Ewelina Dobrowolska previously informed that the United Arab Emirates has already ratified one bilateral treaty on extradition.
Lithuania signed the agreement in order to recover the Lithuanian Emilija Sedleckaitė, who was sentenced to life in the UAE a few years ago for drug possession. Even before the signing of these agreements, the girl was released after her amnesty request was granted, after similar requests were rejected several times.
The Ministry of Justice then indicated that the efforts of several Lithuanian ministries, the diplomatic corps, as well as Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė’s visit to the UAE in October 2021 contributed to the harmonization of the contracts.
The UAE has not joined the European Convention on the Extradition of Convicted Persons, therefore, in the absence of a bilateral agreement, the legal way of taking over a convicted person for the further execution of a prison sentence was not possible for Lithuania.
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2024-08-01 10:13:58
