Chertoff tells EU/Hague no guarantee on no death penalty for extraditions

[Bluebear]

THE HAGUE (Reuters) Mar 22 - The United States believes differences with the European Union on use of the death penalty should not hamper efforts to forge a mutual extradition treaty in the war on terror, a top U.S. official said on Friday.

The EU and United States are considering an unprecedented mutual legal assistance and extradition deal covering terrorism and organized crime, and the EU has said any deal would have to include U.S. guarantees against the use of the death penalty.

But Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff said Washington would
prefer only to give such guarantees on a case-by-case basis for suspects extradited from Europe.

"Our experience is that these things are worked out best case-by-case," Chertoff told reporters in the Hague after meeting EU law enforcement officials.

"I hope it is not an obstacle. We respect the fact that we each have our own views on these matters. The key is to work out an accommodation," he said. (Note: how do you "accommodate" a death penalty?)

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