Friday, February 03, 2006

Extradition from Canada to the United States—Abandoned

Nearly five years ago, three Russian sailors were arrested in Canada on charges that their vessel had rammed and sunk a Maine fishing boat which killed three fishermen.[1] The Rockland, Maine-based trawler Starbound was allegedly struck by the Cypriot-flagged tanker MT Virgo 130 miles off Cape Ann, Massachusetts; it was later found at a refinery in Newfoundland where Canadian authorities arrested Captain Vladimir Ivanov and crewmen Mikhail Gerasimenko and Dmitry Bogdanov.[2]

They faced involuntary manslaughter and negligence charges in the United States, and the US requested the extradition of the men.[3] However, after spending 18 months in Canadian prison, the Newfoundland Court of Appeal ruled they could no longer be held in Canada, and sent them back to Russia.[4] “The judge hearing the case said the sailors had suffered as a result of language and cultural barriers in St. John’s and the extended separation from their families.”[5] The Russian Embassy vowed to return the sailors to Canada if so requested, but late last week the Newfoundland Supreme Court was told that the extradition request had been abandoned.[6]

Russia claims to be investigating the charges, but it remains unclear, other than the civil suits planned by the families of the drowned sailors, what will happen next.[7]

The United States could request of the men from Russia, but it could prove to be enormously difficult. That is because there is no extradition treaty with the . One possibility is the multilateral . Though the treaty is aimed at acts of terrorism, the language is loose enough to potentially cover the ramming and sinking of a boat. Under article 3(c) of the Convention, it is an offense for any person to “unlawfully and intentionally” destroy a ship or cause damage to a ship. It is true that the Russian sailors are accused of involuntary manslaughter and negligence, which casts doubt on the true applicability, but if it becomes alleged that the ramming was intentional, then the Convention, to which both the United States and Russian are parties, could apply. Article 10 of the treaty creates an obligation to extradite or prosecute the individuals, and article 11 makes it clear that extradition can be made even in the absence of an extradition treaty. Nonetheless, extradition from Russia could still be difficult because Russia does not extradite its own citizens.[8]


[1] David Hench, , Portland Press Herald (via Mainetoday.com), Feb. 3, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] , Associated Press (via Boston Globe), Feb. 2, 2006.
[4] , Associated Press (via Boston Globe), Feb. 3, 2006.
[5] AP supra note 3.
[6] Id.
[7] , CBC News, Feb. 2, 2006.
[8] See our post on Yevgeny Adamov, .

posted by McNabb Associates, P.C. @ 11:44 AM