New Zealand court rules suspect can be extradited to China

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s top court has ruled a man can be extradited to China to face a murder charge — a landmark judgment that goes against the trend set by most democratic nations. In a 3-2 decision, the Supreme Court found that China was able to give New Zealand officials sufficient assurance that the accused, Kyung Yup Kim, could get a fair trial and wouldn’t be subjected to torture. Concerns over those issues and others have been enough to stop most democratic countries from extraditing suspects to China. Like many other nations, New Zealand does not have a formal extradition treaty with China.