A German jihadist can be extradited to the USA from French prison
The State Council decided that this risk, in light of Ganczarski's imprisonment sentence in France, did not exist at present. Once he had served his sentence, he could try again to resist extradition to the USA. The US Justice Department is demanding Ganczarski's extradition due to his connections to the Al-Qaida extremist network.
Ganczarski was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June of the previous year for attacking several guards in a northern French prison. Six days before the attack, during which four guards were injured, Ganczarski learned that the US Justice Department had requested his extradition in connection with the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
At that time, he had already set his mind on leaving the prison soon. The Paris court had not ruled out the possibility that Ganczarski had attempted to evade extradition to the USA with the attack.
Ganczarski was imprisoned in France due to his involvement in the April 2002 attack on the Tunisian island of Djerba, where 21 people were killed, among them 14 Germans and two French. Ganczarski was arrested in Paris during a stopover in 2003 and sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2009.
The French public prosecutor accused Ganczarski of supplying Al-Qaida with computers and having had personal contact with its former leader Osama bin Laden. Between 1999 and 2001, he allegedly stayed several times in Afghanistan.
- The European Convention on Human Rights has been cited as a potential obstacle in the extradition of German jihadist Christian Ganczarski from France to the United States of America.
- The Administrative Court in Paris is currently reviewing the extradition request, considering the potential violation of Ganczarski's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Ganczarski's lawyers argue that the United States Justice Department failed to provide sufficient evidence, citing privacy rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Last week, the Administrative Court in Paris handed down a fine to the US-Justice for insufficient evidence, temporarily halting the extradition proceedings.
- In response, the US Justice Department has reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing Ganczarski's extradition, emphasizing his role in Al-Qaida and the September 11 attacks.
- Historically, France and Germany have been signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty which has significantly shaped European human rights law and justice systems.
