Extradition Crisis

The Extradition Crisis was an incident resulting from an abnormally high number of extradition requests submitted to a number of democracies by autocratic states between the 17th July and 19th August 2019; disproportionately affecting Lauchenoiria. The crisis had a number of effects, including tensions leading to the August 2019 Trade War, as well as reducing the Sanctarian presence in Lauchenoiria close to the Kerlian border.

Requests

Xiomeran Underground News

On the 17th July 2019, Xiomera submitted extradition requests for a number of journalists with the Xiomeran Underground News (XUN), a dissident media operation outlawed in Xiomera. These included requests sent to Laeral, Lauchenoiria and Zamastan, for a total of 11 Xiomeran citizens. XUN quickly responded, claiming they were not afraid of the threat of extradition. Zamastan did not immediately respond, but activists in the country had been calling for a response to Xiomeran media censorship for weeks.

Lauchenoiria, on the other hand, immediately rejected the request based on domestic laws prohibiting the extradition of individuals to countries using capital punishment. Laeral also rejected the request. After the rejections, Xiomeran Emperor Topilpopoca withdrew the requests, which had been issued by Secretary of Justice Cētlalhui - who was removed from his position due to the failure of the requests.

Ten days later, on the 30th July, Zamastan finally responded to the request, granting the journalists asylum and "exceptional migration status".

On the 8th August, the XUN (now renamed the Huenyan News Network (HNN)) warrants became an issue again in Lauchenoiria when the two HNN journalists in Lauchenoiria attacked the Xiomeran embassy in Buttercity - called a terrorist attack by Xiomera. President Alex Marwick's new Extradition Taskforce - set up after the Bloch request by Shuell (below) - then announced they would be taking forward the cases of the two Xiomerans, Tlixō and Xōnē, as well as Bloch.

The following day, the taskforce quickly decided to drop the cases of Tlixō and Xōnē; refusing the extradition request a second time. This decision was accepted by the Xiomeran government. The pair were later charged with, tried for and convicted of arson in Lauchenoiria.

Jasmine Eddington

Jasmine Eddington (1977 - 2019) murdered 13 adolescent boys in Kerlile

On the 21st July, Kerlile requested the extradition of convicted serial killer Jasmine Eddington from Lauchenoiria, after Eddington escaped from prison and crossed the border. Lauchenoiria automatically rejected the request, once again on the basis of the domestic ban on extradition to countries using capital punishment. Lauchenoirian Foreign Secretary Sandra Pavía was widely criticised for the rejection both domestically and by Sanctaria and Xiomera.

While Eddington was incarcerated in Lauchenoiria on immigration charges, Kerlile continued to urge Lauchenoiria to change their mind over the request. Families of Eddington's victims wrote to Lauchenoiria and Councillor Jennifer Hale called Prime Minister Josephine Alvarez (her legally-wedded wife), asking her to return Eddington.

The day after the letters and phone call, the Federal Parliament of Lauchenoiria debated and passed an amendment to Lauchenoirian extradition law, allowing for the extradition of individuals to countries actively using capital punishment if the individual is over 21, committed a violent crime, and Lauchenoiria receives assurances the individual will not be executed. The amendment allowed the President of Lauchenoiria, then Alex Marwick, to make an executive decision on extraditions in such circumstances. Four days later, Marwick indeed announced his intention to extradite Eddington, however she was permitted to appeal the decision.

On August 14th, Eddington's appeal was announced to be successful - prompting sharp criticism from Kerlile and Sanctaria, who in turn requested the extradition of Eddington to Sanctaria instead, as one of her victims had been a Sanctarian citizen. The Sanctarian request was quickly accepted.

Eddington was placed on a jet to Sanctaria; however the plane carrying Eddington disappeared over the Gregory Mountains, causing concern back in Lauchenoiria. The wreckage of Eddington's plane was found on August 19th, with no survivors. It later transpired that the crash was not an accident and was instead caused by First Officer Maria Cummings, who deliberately downed the plane.

Peter Bloch

On August 6, a further extradition request was submitted to Lauchenoiria, this time by Shuell. This third request was for a Shuellian aid worker, Peter Bloch, who attempted to claim asylum in Lauchenoiria due to the autocratic nature of Shuell's government. The following day, Lauchenoiria rejected Bloch's asylum claim - sparking suspicion about undue Shuellian influence on Lauchenoirian policy.

On August 8, Marwick announced his intention to extradite Peter Bloch, earning sharp criticism from multiple directions; including domestically and by Sanctaria. Bloch appealed the decision, with the appeal being heard in court the following day. The appeal was rejected; leading to mass protests in Buttercity over the decision. This also resulted in Sanctaria announcing that they would be reducing their presence in Lauchenoiria, especially near the Kerlian border. Green leader Lucie Scott also called for an investigation into the extradition taskforce.

Aftermath

Marwick's decision to extradite Peter Bloch to Shuell caused Sanctaria to reduce their military presence in the north of Lauchenoiria, near the potentially dangerous Kerlian border. It is believed this was aimed as an expression of disapproval of the Lauchenoirian government's actions.

Bloch was imprisoned in Shuell, however he was allowed to enter into a program where Shuellian political prisoners could compete in the 2019 Shuell Olympic Games, to be released if a medal was won. Bloch managed to win a medal in his event, and it is presumed he was released soon after.

The Xiomeran Underground News was shut down, however was reformed as the Huenyan News Network; staffed by the same Xiomeran exiles across the globe (with the exception of the two in Lauchenoiria who were imprisoned for arson).

Unpopularity of Alex Marwick

President Alex Marwick of Lauchenoiria's approval ratings plummeted to an all-time-low following the extradition crisis due to his handling of the matter. The extradition law amended by the Federal Parliament was quickly repealed in November due to the large amount of controversy surrounding the matter. Marwick's political party, the Lauchenoirian Democratic Alliance (LDA), fell drastically in the polls, with many representatives jumping ship to other parties. In the 2020 elections, Marwick did not run for re-election as President, and the LDA lost all seats. The extradition crisis became Marwick's lasting legacy, with him known as one of the most incompetent and unpopular presidents in Lauchenoirian history.

Assassination of Emperor Topilpopoca

Due to his mishandling of the extradition requests, Cētlalhui, the Xiomeran Justice Secretary, was forced to retire from his position. He was permitted to keep one firearm, and expected to commit ritual suicide, which is common in Xiomera for large failures. However, Cētlalhui did not carry out this suicide, and instead went on to shoot Emperor Topilpopoca, landing him in hospital where he later died from his wounds. Cētlalhui was later executed for the assassination. The death of the Emperor led to a new Great Selection, in which his wife Yauhmi became Empress. After Yauhmi began initiating reforms of the Xiomeran system, a group in Xiomera launched a coup, starting the Second Xiomeran Civil War which ultimately led to the partition of Xiomera into Xiomera, Huenya and Manabí Rive.