Supreme Court refuses to free Frenchwoman wanted in Chile

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris in France killing 129 persons had an echo in the Supreme Court on Tuesday when it observed that at a time when terrorists are striking at will there is no question of the temporary release of a 55-year-old French national Marie Emmanuelle Verhoeven, arrested on a terrorist attack charge.

Wanted in Chile as a suspect in the killing of a senator, she is seeking to block her extradition on the ground that there is no valid extradition treaty. A bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and Kurian Joseph did not accept the request of senior counsel T.R. Andhyarujina, appearing for the French fugitive, to release her temporarily till the Supreme Court finally decide the matter on the validity of her detention.

Justice Thakur told the counsel “we are not releasing her (petitioner) in the interregnum. She is facing a serious charge of terrorist activities and killing a senator Jaime Guzmán Errázuriz, under the Pinochet regime (soon after the collapse of the military dictatorship, Errázuriz was assassinated in 1991).”

The bench said “This case requires interpretation of international law whether the treaty is valid or not. What is the status of the fugitive in the absence of an extradition treaty. She is accused of being a part of a group involved in the killing of a senator. It involves bilateral relations. We have no hold over her when she flees the country after her release. When terrorists are striking at will, we don’t want to make things complicated and spoil cordial relations with India and Chile. You argue the matter and we will take a decision one way or the other.” The bench was hearing a habeas corpus petition and a special leave petition filed by her challenging her detention from February 17, 2015 on the basis of a red corner notice issued by Interpol on the request of the Republic of Chile for her detention for the alleged offence committed in Chile. Subsequently, she was provisionally arrested on February 24, 2015 by an order passed by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Patiala House Courts, under Section 34 of the Extradition Act.