VZCZCXRO1076
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHYE #0845/01 3430732
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090732Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9811
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000845 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/AAE Judith Campbell, L/LEI Jennifer Landsidle 
DOJ/OPDAT for Carl Alexandre and DOJ/OPDAT, 
Catherine Newcombe, DOJ/OIA Tom Burrows, DOJ/OIA Andrea Tisi, and 
DOJ/USDOJ, and DOJ/CRM/DAAG Bruce Swartz 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KJUS AM
SUBJECT: USDOJ AND ARMENIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS EXTRADITION AND MUTUAL 
LEGAL ASSISTANCE 
 
YEREVAN 00000845  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Officials of the U.S. Department of Justice / Office of 
International Affairs (OIA) and Office of Overseas Prosecutorial 
Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) met with high-level 
GOAM officials to recognize the extensive informal cooperation in 
criminal matters between the U.S. and Armenia, but nonetheless to 
discuss extradition issues and difficulties in transferring 
prosecution from the United States to Armenia. Armenia and the 
United States do not have a bilateral extradition treaty; the 
Armenian Criminal Code prohibits citizens of Armenia from being sent 
to a foreign state for prosecution, although the Constitution of 
Armenia would allow it should there be authorization in a treaty. 
There seems little will among Armenian officials to amend their laws 
to allow for extradition of Armenian citizens to the United States, 
a prerequisite to consideration of negotiation of a bilateral 
extradition treaty.  Armenian law enforcement continues to work 
closely and effectively with their American counterparts on sharing 
information and obtaining evidence, even without a bilateral mutual 
legal assistance treaty between the two countries. END SUMMARY. 
 
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LITTLE POLITICAL WILL FOR EXTRADITION 
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¶2. (SBU) Andrea Tisi of the US Department of Justice   Office of 
International Affairs (USDOJ/ OIA) and RLA met in Yerevan with the 
Prosecutor General of Armenia, the Deputy Minister of Justice, the 
Head of the Armenian Police, and officials of the Armenian Foreign 
Ministry from November 30 to December 3, 2009. In their meetings the 
USDOJ officials explored the willingness of Armenian officials to 
change their Criminal Code to allow for extradition of Armenian 
citizens to the United States for prosecution.  Armenia and the 
United States have no bilateral extradition treaty; under the 
Armenian Criminal Code, Article 16, Armenian citizens may not be 
extradited for crimes committed in other states.  The Constitution 
of Armenia would allow such extradition were there an international 
treaty superseding the Criminal Code prohibition. 
 
¶3. (SBU) GOAM officials appeared divided, at best, regarding a 
willingness to change local laws or otherwise push for a treaty to 
override those laws.  The Prosecutor General clearly recognized the 
need for an extradition treaty, being interested in seeking the 
extradition of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents from the 
U.S. to face trial in Armenia.  Nonetheless, the Prosecutor General 
was more comfortable with U.S. authorities transferring evidence to 
Armenia in order for Armenian officials to prosecute, should an 
Armenian citizen commit a crime in the United States and then flee 
back to Armenia.  MFA officials expressed a desire to explore the 
possibility of an extradition treaty, with the understanding that 
there would have to be a change to the Criminal Code of Armenia and 
real political will to extradite nationals. In sum, there is no real 
possibility for a bilateral extradition treaty with Armenia without 
a change in the Armenian preference for protecting their citizens 
from foreign prosecution. 
 
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AD HOC COOPERATION ABOUNDS IN THE ABSENCE OF A MUTUAL LEGAL 
ASSISTANCE TREATY - WITH SOME GLITCHES 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Cooperation between US and Armenian law enforcement is 
good, even in the absence of a formal mutual legal assistance 
treaty.  Nonetheless, Armenian law enforcement has been frustrated 
in a few instances by the failure of U.S. law enforcement to respond 
to GOAM requests for evidence in criminal cases in which the 
Armenians have arrested an Armenian national, or in one instance an 
Iranian national on drug charges, at the behest of U.S. officials or 
an Interpol Red Notice.  Often this failure to respond may be due to 
communication difficulties, failure to obtain Armenian translations 
of evidence gathered in the United States, or other issues.  OIA 
offered to assist the Armenian authorities in facilitating 
communication so that U.S. prosecutors can make decisions about 
whether to transfer prosecution to Armenia, and if they decide to, 
how to share evidence with Armenian authorities. 
 
¶5. (SBU) At the moment, Armenia is obliged to arrest people based on 
an Interpol Red Notice.  Thereafter, Armenian officials seek the 
U.S. evidence underlying the charge in order to proceed with the 
prosecution in Armenia.  U.S. authorities may not want to transfer 
 
YEREVAN 00000845  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
prosecution, but instead may want to wait and see whether the 
fugitive turns up in another country with which the United States 
does have an extradition treaty.  Currently, communication is ad 
hoc, and often Armenia does not hear back from individual local 
prosecutors about transfer of prosecution. To smooth out these 
more-than-occasional difficulties, the OIA official met with her 
counterparts in the Prosecutor General's Office to establish clear 
lines of communication, thereby promoting full understanding on 
future law enforcement cooperation. The OIA official also conducted 
a training session, at OPDAT's request and with INL support, for 
police and prosecutors on U.S. extradition and deportation practices 
and on how to best obtain evidence from the U.S. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶6. (SBU) One of the purposes of OIA's trip to  Armenia was to 
determine whether a more formalized, regularized structure of law 
enforcement cooperation  would be feasible and/or desirable.  Given 
that extradition of nationals does not seem a possibility in the 
near future, cooperation on a case-by-case basis, which has been 
good, seems the most productive means to advance U.S. interests. END 
COMMENT. 
 
YOVANOVITCH