A third country national cannot be extradited to his or her country of origin by a Member State of the European Union if he or she has been recognised as a refugee in another EU country and as long as this other EU country has not revoked that status, ruled the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in a judgment handed down on Tuesday 18 June (case C-352/22).
Türkiye is asking Germany to extradite a Turkish national of Kurdish origin on suspicion of homicide, but who was granted refugee status in Italy in 2010 on the grounds that he risks persecution because of his support for the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).
Interpreting the European asylum system (directives 2013/32 and 2011/95) and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Court replied that, as long as the Italian authorities had not revoked or withdrawn the refugee status of the person concerned, he could not be extradited. Otherwise, the Court believes, extradition would be tantamount to ending refugee status.
The German authority is invited to contact the Italian authority that granted international protection to the Turkish national. If the Italian authority revokes or withdraws refugee status as a result of this contact, the European judge states, the German authority must itself come to the conclusion that the person concerned is not or is no longer a refugee. And it must ensure that there is no serious risk that, in the event of extradition, the person concerned will be subjected in Türkiye to the death penalty, torture or other degrading treatment or punishment.
To see the Court’s ruling, go to https://aeur.eu/f/cpm (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)