Tate brothers will fight extradition to the UK. But the law makes it difficult to win
Any refund Andrew and Tristan Tate The transition from the US to the UK would ultimately be up to the Foreign Office, but only after the judge decides Whether the request complies with the law and an agreement between countries.
The USA has agreed to send more than 20 people wanted on various charges to the UK since 2020. According to the British Parliament. With possible appeals, the process could take several years if the defendant wants to fight it.
“The government holds all the cards in the extradition process because the rules of evidence allow the government to introduce whatever evidence it wants,” said Jacques Semmelman, a New York-based attorney and procedural expert.
“It’s very difficult for the defense to defeat extradition,” he said.
The process starts with agreement
The US has an agreement that allows the UK to pursue an extradition request if the alleged crimes are also deemed illegal in the US. The Tate brothers are accused of rape, assault, human trafficking and other crimes in southeast England from 2010 to 2017.
Defense attorney Joseph McBride said, “They never did anything wrong. They should not be extradited for crimes they did not commit.”
Under the agreement, a federal judge will review arrest warrants, investigative documents and other information submitted by the U.S. government to show there is a “reasonable basis” for bringing charges against them in the United Kingdom.
Semmelman, of the Katten Muchin Rosenman law firm, said the hearing will be unlike a trial.
“A partial victory could mean a reduction in the charges to be extradited,” he said. “It is very difficult to achieve an overall victory without restitution.”
It is rare to refuse a return
If a judge finds that the UK government has met the threshold and any appeal is unsuccessful, the final decision on extradition will rest with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio or his successor, who has wide discretion.
“In most cases, the secretary of state will sign the extradition order,” Semmelman said. he said.
Some extradition requests were unsuccessful in the US. In 2015, a judge said insufficient evidence An art dealer, II. Demonstrating that he knew that an 18th-century painting taken from a museum in Poland by the Nazis during World War II was stolen property when he inherited it.
Government during President Donald Trump’s first administration in 2020 refused to surrender An American woman fatally struck a young man while driving in eastern England. Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence officer, later returned to the US. He later admitted responsibility via video in a UK court.
