France rejects Chile’s request for the extradition of a leftist militant

<p>A French court has rejected Chile’s request of extradition for a leftist militant, who was previously imprisoned over the assassination of an ally of Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet.</p> <p>Paris’s Court of Appeals refused to extradite Ricardo Palma Salamanca in a decision made on Wednesday, following France’s Office for the Protection of Refugees (Ofpra) granting Ricardo Palma Salamanca political asylum last November, despite pleas from Chile for his extradition.</p> <p>Chile had imprisoned Salamanca for the murder of Senator Jaime Guzman, a key confidant of Pinochet.&nbsp;He was imprisoned in a maximum security prison and had two life sentences but made a remarkable escape in a metal basket dangling from a helicopter in 1996. Following his escape he fled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and changed his name. He was captured again by Interpol in Paris in February 2018.</p> <p>His arrest over the assassination has been contested, after it emerged that Chilean authorities allegedly extracted a confession through torture.</p> <p>Chile’s current president Sebastian Pinera had sent a personal letter to France’s Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron and also filed an appeal for Salamanca’s return. Speaking on this issue Chile’s foreign minister, Roberto Ampuero called France’s decision “incomprehensible”.&nbsp; He further stated, “It is not in line with the principles and standards of international law.”</p> <p>Ofpra refused to comment on the case as it stated that it was policy not to comment on individual decisions to grant asylum.</p> <p>Reuters meanwhile noted that Chile and France do not have an extradition treaty and that French law states that an extradition cannot take place “when the crime has a political aspect or the request is made for political purposes.”</p> <p>See more from Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-france/chile-says-france-decis…">here</a> and VoA <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/chile-protests-french-asylum-approval-for-kil…">here</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>