JAKARTA. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had rejected Russia's request for the extradition of Russian citizens imprisoned in Indonesia because of a lack of extradition treaty, a minister said on Wednesday.
The request was made during a meeting between the government and Russian delegates lead by Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev on Wednesday.
The Russian government had asked Jokowi to extradite six Russian citizens jailed in Indonesia, including a convicted drug lord, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said.
"They have requested an extradition that we cannot lawfully fulfill," he said at the State Palace as quoted by tempo.co. Indonesia could not comply with Russia's request as the two countries did not have an agreement for extradition, he explained.
However, the government is willing to share information on the concerned inmates.
Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly said the extradition would only be possible if Indonesia and Russia had in place a Mutual Legal Assistance proposal, a draft of which has been submitted by Yasonna’s Russian counterpart.
"Soon a team from the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister and the National Police will discuss the matter. Following that, we hope there will be a signing of a memorandum of understanding during a planned working visit to Russia," he said.
An extradition agreement must begin with the signing of an MoU, followed by a discussion of cooperation and the signing of a treaty on extradition, Yasonna added.
Boosting ties
In the meeting with the Russian delegation, the government also discussed the possibility of intelligence-sharing between the two countries.
The government had mainly focused on cooperation with the US, Luhut said, noting that greater cooperation with Russia could benefit Indonesia.
The two countries also discussed issues surrounding the exchange of information, human resource training and equipment cooperation.
Russia and Indonesia agreed to cooperate on combating drugs through information-sharing between the two governments. On the issue of defense, Russia offered advanced military vehicles such as a Sukhoi SU-35, a helicopter, a submarine and a speed boat. An agreement had not been reached, however, Luhut added.
"Most importantly there has to be a transfer of technology, so that we do not only become a market for developed countries," he said.
