RI ACLU Opposes Extradition of Alleged Cop Killer — “Likely to be Tortured” if Returned to DR
GoLocalProv News Team
RI ACLU Opposes Extradition of Alleged Cop Killer — “Likely to be Tortured” if Returned to DR
The case arises in the context of a habeas corpus petition filed by the Federal Public Defender on behalf of Cristian Aguasvivas, who is from the Dominican Republic (DR).
“If fundamental American values are to be upheld, the government’s position, in this case, must be soundly rejected. It is essential for an independent judiciary to have a role in evaluating claims like those of Mr. Aguasvivas in order to prevent facilitating the torture of a person who has sought asylum here,” said RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown.
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According to the petition, the DR is seeking to extradite him for allegedly shooting to death a DR drug police officer.
Aguasvivas claims he is innocent and the victim of rampant police corruption in that country that includes kidnappings, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
According to the ACLU, Aguasvivas fled to the United States and sought asylum after being hunted by DR police.
In 2016, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the federal administrative appellate body that applies the immigration laws, concluded that it was “more likely than not” that Aguasvivas would be tortured if sent back to the DR.
The BIA came to this conclusion based on testimony from various witnesses who were themselves tortured by the police in an attempt to find him and the fact that Aguasvivas’ brother was later killed by DR police.
The BIA granted Aguasvivas “withholding of removal” preventing his extradition, based on an international human rights treaty known as the Convention Against Torture (CAT), a treaty to which the United States is a signatory, and which prohibits the return of any individual to a country where he/she will face torture.
However, the State Department has taken the position that it remains free to extradite Aguasvivas notwithstanding the BIA decision.
The ACLU brief notes that the “government does not attempt to contest the likelihood of torture,” but instead primarily argues that the Court has no jurisdiction to consider whether Aguasvivas will be tortured and killed in the DR.
The ACLU brief cites the Suspension Clause of the U.S. Constitution – the provision guaranteeing all individuals the right to habeas corpus.
The brief states that “habeas has always been available to test the lawfulness of Executive restraints on liberty, and in the Suspension Clause the Framers of the Constitution specifically enshrined the Writ as a critical safeguard to ensure individual liberty.”
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