Posted at 5:00 a.m.
New Zealand justice does not deny the existence of torture in China. But before the guarantees offered by Beijing, the Supreme Court upheld a 2016 decision to extradite one of its permanent residents to this country, where he is accused of homicide. The judgment drew criticism, in New Zealand as elsewhere.
Kyung Yup Kim, a 40-year-old of South Korean origin, has been fighting his extradition for 11 years. He lives in New Zealand, where he has been a permanent resident since he was a teenager.
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court upheld a judgment that upheld the Justice Department’s decision to deport Mr. Kim to China, where he is charged with a murder committed in Shanghai in 2009.
At the heart of the debate? The risks of torture on Chinese soil, a documented practice, and an unfair trial.
Warranties
The answers given by the Chinese government satisfied the New Zealand Ministry of Justice. The power in China assured the Ministry that New Zealand consular and diplomatic representatives could visit the accused in detention during the investigation, once every 48 hours, and even more, if he so requested.
“I am troubled by this presumption that the diplomatic assurances of the People’s Republic of China are a solid basis for extradition,” notes in an interview with The Press Anna High, a scholar of Chinese law at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
When the judgment was announced on April 13, voices were raised to denounce the precedent thus created, among elected officials in New Zealand and elsewhere. About 20 MPs and senators from different countries, such as the United Kingdom, France and Australia, members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China group, signed a letter to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Justice Minister Kris Faafoi to express their “concern” over the decision.
Human rights groups also denounced New Zealand’s decision, which was not unanimous, with two of the five judges dissenting.
human rights
“China is a state that has judicial practices in all areas – not just against defenders of rights or opponents – totally inappropriate, we speak of unfair trials, closed doors where defense lawyers do not have no access to the evidence, explains France-Isabelle Langlois, executive director of Amnesty International Canada Francophone. It is expeditious, and the sentences are completely disproportionate to the crimes allegedly committed. »
She fears the next extradition requests, not only in New Zealand, but also elsewhere.
From the moment there is a judgment that goes in one direction, it opens the door to future judgments of similar causes. And it can be to China or any other equally authoritarian regime.
France-Isabelle Langlois, Executive Director of Amnesty International Canada Francophone
According to Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch, “no” guarantee from China could have been satisfactory. “The idea that the government of New Zealand will accept diplomatic guarantees from the Chinese government is troubling, there is a dark history on the Chinese side of depriving people of a fair trial, and of mistreating and torture in detention,” she said.
A test ”
In the New Zealand Supreme Court ruling, the judges note that “the Foreign Minister, in her letter dated October 6, 2021, argued that Mr. Kim’s case is a ‘test’ for the PRC [République populaire de Chine] and noted the PRC’s interest in extradition. Based on this analysis, advertising [autour du cas] could, in fact, protect the interests of Mr. Kim.”
Despite differences, including over human rights, New Zealand maintains close ties with China, its largest trading partner.
In her letter to the Court, the Minister of Foreign Affairs also explained that Mr. Kim’s case is different from those of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were arbitrarily detained in China for more than 1,000 days, since he It was not a politically motivated accusation, but a “serious and legitimate allegation of a crime”.
Kyung Yup Kim is accused of the murder of Peiyun Chen, which occurred in Shanghai in December 2009. The 20-year-old young woman was found on a vacant lot, strangled, her body wrapped in a large black cloth. She had head injuries, according to New Zealand court documents.
Mr. Kim was then in Shanghai with his girlfriend, who identified the fabrics in which the waitress had been wrapped as being similar to those seen in the accused’s apartment.
“There is a victim in this case, Peiyun Chen, and of course his family and the community deserve justice for his death,” said Ms.me High. But whether China has serious grounds to suspect Mr. Kim or not, countries must act responsibly, she said. “Before returning Mr. Kim to China, New Zealand has a legal and moral obligation to ensure that his fundamental human rights will not be violated,” she added.
To avoid extradition, Kyung Yup Kim could turn to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.