McNabb in the News (9/27/06)

Senior Principal Douglas McNabb has been quoted by DealBreaker.com’s John Carney regarding Jacob “Kobi” Alexander.

So what’s going on? DealBreaker turned to our favorite extradition expert, Douglas McNabb of McNabb Associates for an explanation.

“There is no extradition treaty between the two countries. However, any country can expel anyone they want. If he’s in the country illegally, they can deport him to the US. If he’s there with a visa, they can revoke his visa,” McNabb said. “From this report, it seems that they have passed special legislation—a unilateral extradition statute—that allows for the extradition of someone the US wants,”

McNabb told DealBreaker that similar legislation has been passed in the UK. The US has an extradition treaty with the UK, but the parliament has also unilaterally passed legislation reducing the burden of proof required for extradition from probable cause to a simple presentation of charges against the accused. McNabb served as an expert witness in the NatWest Three extradition case.

McNabb also noted that Costa Rica—which also has a treaty with the US—often doesn’t bother to go through a formal extradition process. “In Costa Rica they just revoke your visa. It becomes an immigration issue rather than an extradition issue. At that point, you are in the country illegally and so they take you to the airport, where US Marshalls are waiting,” McNabb said.

There aren’t many place where a fugitive can hide from US law enforcement, according to McNabb. “In the first place, most places that don’t have a treaty with the US aren’t places you would want to be. Second, as this case shows, just because there isn’t an extradition treaty, doesn’t mean that the US won’t get you,” McNabb said.^[1]

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[1] John Carney, DealBreaker Special Report: You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide, DealBreaker.com, Sep. 27, 2006.