PARAGUAY: BRAZIL REBUFFS GOP BID TO EXTEND

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000600

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCT AND INL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER KCRM PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: BRAZIL REBUFFS GOP BID TO EXTEND
BARAKAT'S EXTRADITION



1. Brazil extradited Lebanese citizen Assad Barakat to
Paraguay on tax evasion charges in March 2003. In June 2003,
he was convicted and sentenced to six years. Shortly
thereafter, Paraguay requested an extension of his
extradition so that he could be prosecuted on charges of bank
fraud.


2. On 5/18, Brazil's PolCouns Antonio DaCosta told PolCouns
that Paraguay's request for an extension of Barakat's
extradition had prompted Brazil to reconsider the terms of
his original extradition. Upon review, Brazil discovered
that Barakat had been extradited to Paraguay but on the
explicit condition that his term not exceed 5 years which is
the maximum term to which he would have been subject for the
same offense in Brazil. DaCosta advised that not only had
Brazil decided to reject Paraguay's request for an extension
of Barakat's extradition but was formally calling upon the
GOP to explain its non-compliance with the original terms of
extradition. DaCosta also remarked that the prosecutor in
Barakat's case had himself recently been convicted of
corruption and maintained that Barakat's conviction was based
on very thin grounds calling into question the bonafides of
the conviction.


3. Juan Emilio Oviedo, the Director of the Attorney
General's International Relations Office, admitted that
Paraguay had erred in not complying with Brazil's terms
relating to the original extradition of Barakat. He
maintained Paraguay could not/not now change Barakat's
sentence post facto. He acknowledged that Paraguay allows
for the early release on good behavior of convicts upon
serving two-thirds of their sentence if they have not been
convicted prior of any another offense. While he was
reluctant to speculate Paraguay's legal system would agree to
Barakat's early release on these terms, he acknowledged it as
a possibility. DaCosta spoke directly to the same provision
as a way for Paraguay to "correct" its error in sentencing
Barakat to six years.


4. In April, the Paraguayan press reported that Brazil's
Foreign Ministry had decided to cancel Paraguay's request for
an extension of Barakat's extradition on grounds that
Paraguay's Embassy in Brasilia had not responded to GOB
petitions. Brazilian PolCouns DaCosta knew nothing of this
matter. Oviedo of the Attorney General's Office speculated
the report could have misconstrued the GOP's response to a
GOB request that it inform Barakat of Paraguay's decision to
pursue an extension of his extradition. Oviedo maintained
that the GOP informed Barakat's lawyer of its decision but
not through a legal motion as Brazil may have expected.
According to Oviedo, Paraguay's MFA informed Brazil of its
action so that when Brazil apparently petitioned Paraguay a
second time to inform Barakat of its decision to extend his
extradition, the GOP chose not to answer Brazil's petition.
In any case, this matter is moot as according to Brazil's
Embassy here Brazil has decided to reject the extension
request and appeal the sentence deriving from the original
conviction.
CASON