Kwon Do-hyung, the key figure in the 'Terra·Luna' crash incident, has filed an appeal with the Montenegro Supreme Court to be extradited to South Korea instead of the United States.
Goran Lodi? and Mariya Radulovi?, Kwon's local legal representatives in Montenegro, appealed against the Podgorica High Court's decision to approve the extradition of Kwon to both South Korea and the United States, local daily Vijesti reported on the 23rd (local time).
Kwon Do-hyung, CEO of Terraform Labs, heading to the Podgorica District Court, the capital of Montenegro [Photo by Yonhap News]
In the appeal, Kwon's side argued, "The High Court's decision is baseless and illegal," and claimed, "The High Court and Supreme Court misinterpreted the law to satisfy the request of the Minister of Justice." This implies that since Minister of Justice Andrija Milovi? expressed his desire for Kwon to be sent to the U.S., the High Court and Supreme Court rendered a verdict tailored to that predetermined conclusion.
Regarding the Supreme Court, Kwon's side criticized, stating, "This is not the first time the Supreme Court has made a wrong ruling for the benefit of a third party rather than the defendant's legal interests." The criticism of the Supreme Court's ruling stems from the fact that the decision for extradition to South Korea, which was made by the High Court and confirmed by the appellate court, was overturned by the Supreme Court.
Earlier, on the 5th, the Supreme Court accepted the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's request for a legality review, which stated that the authority to decide on extradition lies with the Minister of Justice, not the court. This invalidated the High Court's decision for extradition to South Korea and remanded the case. The High Court repeated the extradition review procedure it conducted last November and on the 8th again approved Kwon's extradition, handing over the final extradition decision to the Minister of Justice.
Kwon's side argued, "The appellate court serves as a kind of final trial, and the Supreme Court cannot overturn the decision of the final trial," adding, "The Supreme Court's action to illegally cancel the final extradition decision for Kwon and initiate a new procedure violates the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects European human rights and fundamental freedoms."
They also added, "A copy of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's legality review request was delivered to the defense team only 20 minutes before the Supreme Court plenary session began," and "The defense team had no opportunity to raise objections or defend the defendant before the Supreme Court."
If the appellate court dismisses Kwon's appeal and the judicial process is completed, Minister Milovi? is expected to make the final decision on Kwon's extradition.
In a local broadcast interview last November, Minister Milovi? stated regarding Kwon's extradition, "The United States is our most important foreign policy partner." Meanwhile, Kwon's side has demanded extradition to South Korea, arguing that the maximum sentence for economic crimes in the U.S. can be over 100 years.
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