Today, on 10 February 2020, the Ambassador of Denmark, Flemming Stender, was summoned to a meeting with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, to receive an official démarche concerning the planned extradition of the Latvian citizen, Kristīne Misāne, to the Republic of South Africa.
Latvia has repeatedly requested that this citizen of Latvia not be extradited before all legal procedures have been completed. We urge Danish authorities to await the session of the Danish district court scheduled to be held this coming Friday, 14 February.
Latvia would like to convey its lack of comprehension concerning Denmark’s objectives in extraditing a citizen of the European Union to a third country where human rights violations have been noted on an international scale. This extradition is especially difficult to understand given Latvia’s repeated communications with Denmark requesting that Kristīne Misāne not be extradited, with these communications taking place both through diplomatic channels, as well as on the political level. At the current time, taking into account that Ms. Misāne has begun a hunger strike, we call upon Denmark to pay particular attention to the condition of her health, so as to avoid a serious deterioration.
We call on Denmark to act in accordance with the high human rights standards that are of equal importance to both Latvia and Denmark.