The National Prosecutor's Office informed that a meeting was held on Thursday with the participation of representatives of the United Arab Emirates and the Polish side regarding the extradition of Sebastian M. to Poland. A man is being hunted after a tragic accident on the A1 motorway, which killed a family of three. The Emirati side reported that the prosecutor appointed to participate in the extradition proceedings questioned the Pole, who pleaded not guilty.
Thursday's meeting took place via videoconference. It was attended by – according to the spokeswoman of the National Prosecutor's Office, Anna Adamiak – a high official of the Ministry of Justice of the United Arab Emirates, the director of the International Cooperation Office of the National Prosecutor's Office, the management of the Department of International Cooperation and Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice and members of the diplomatic corps of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Abu Dhabi.
“He pleaded not guilty”
In the announcement published by the National Prosecutor's Office, we read that the representative of the United Arab Emirates confirmed that Sebastian M. is staying in the territory of this country. He added that the man was questioned by the prosecutor appointed to participate in the extradition proceedings, who represents the Polish prosecutor's office.
“Sebastian M. did not admit to committing the act that was the basis for the application, stating that the actions taken against him by the Polish prosecutor's office were politically motivated,” we read in the statement signed by prosecutor Anna Adamiak.
She noted that carrying out this procedural step “indicates the formal commencement of the extradition procedure”:
“During the interrogation, the Emirati prosecutor informed the defendant about his ban on leaving the territory of the UAE,” Adamiak notes.
Without knowing about the “golden visa”
During the meeting – as reported in the PK press release – reference was also made to the information appearing in the public space about Sebastian M. obtaining resident status in the United Arab Emirates.
“The representative of the UAE did not have the knowledge to confirm this information, he stated that he was at the stage of checking it, however, all participants of the meeting agreed that this circumstance was not important in accordance with the provisions of the agreement between the Republic of Poland and the United Arab Emirates on legal cooperation in criminal matters. legal basis when making decisions on extradition,” we read in the press release.
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Polish commitment
The Polish prosecutor's office – as Adamiak points out – has undertaken to send the Emirati authorities by the end of October 2024 information from the investigation regarding findings relevant to the extradition proceedings.
At the same time, the press release states that the meeting also concerned other aspects of cooperation between the judicial authorities of the Republic of Poland and the United Arab Emirates.
“An initiative was taken to hold two consultation meetings every year, aimed at developing the best possible methods of cooperation to improve it and thus increase the effectiveness in prosecuting crimes whose perpetrators are hiding in the territory of the state party to the agreement,” the press release noted.
Main photo source: TVN24