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Germany: extradition request denied

01 November 1995

The Berlin Kammergericht (High Court) decided on 13 October at its first hearing that a request by Spain for the extradition of Benjamin Ramos that they required further information before deciding on the case. Ramos is charged by the Spanish authorities to be a member of the Barcelona commando of ETA which is said to have organised a bombing in 1994 which killed a person. It is also alleged that he rented cars and flats for the group. Ramos escaped to Berlin to live with his girl friend. On 29 January 1995 he was detained there by the police following a request by the Spanish police and held in Moabit prison, Berlin. At the hearing in the Berlin High Court Ramos claimed that the charges against him were based on allegations made by Mr Espera, an alleged ETA member, made under torture. He told the court that the conditions in Spanish prisons were inhumane and that he could not be sure that he too would not be tortured if he was extradited. The court accepted evidence on torture cases presented by Amnesty International and other human rights groups. Despite the backing for the Spanish request by the German government the court asked for more information on the case and particularly a guarantee the allegations of Mr Espera would not be used in court against Ramos. It seems unlikely the Spanish authorities will agree to this and the Spanish Audiencia Nacional has until 10 December to respond otherwise Ramos will have to be set free. This would be the second case since 1993 that Spain will have been turned down by judicial authorities in other EU member states. In November 1993 Belgium authorities accepted an application for asylum by two alleged ETA members. Kammergericht Berlin, Beschluss vom 13.10.95, Az.: (4) Ausl A 94/95 (9/95).