After Pakistan failed to submit an extradition request and original international arrest warrant within 40 days, Czech authorities were obliged by law to release a Pakistani national suspected of murder and terrorist offenses, the Czech Ministry of Justice announced on Monday.
Justice Ministry spokeswoman Tereza Palečková told the weekly Ekonom that Pakistan, which issued the warrant for the arrest of the unnamed suspect, failed to file the original Czech copy of the arrest warrant and an extradition request within a 40-day period. The Czech authorities would be able to arrest the suspect again if the Pakistani authorities issue a retroactive extradition request, Palečková said. The suspect reportedly applied for political asylum in the Czech Republic prior to his arrest.
Robert Šlachta, head of the Czech police’s anti-organized crime unit (ÚOOZ), which is also responsible for cases involving suspected terrorism, previously announced that Czech police had not ascertained whether the suspect had committed crimes linked with terrorism, adding that he had refused to cooperate with the investigation. Nevertheless, Šlachta said ÚOOZ had ruled out the possibility that the man was planning a terrorist attack in the Czech Republic.
International arrest warrants are always issued by the authorities of the country where a given crime has been committed.
