Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the criteria used to determine whether an extradition request from Hong Kong is politically motivated, particularly where charges are presented as criminal offences; and what safeguards are in place to prevent the authorities in Hong Kong from misusing criminal law as a means of targeting political opponents and seeking their extradition.

This Government remains resolutely committed to ensuring that no individual is extradited from the United Kingdom for politically motivated purposes, including in cases where charges are presented as criminal offences. The Extradition Act provides statutory safeguards and judicial oversight. It is for an independent UK court to determine whether any request for extradition is made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing an individual on account of their political opinions, or whether if extradited they might be prejudiced at their trial or punished, detained or restricted in their personal liberty by reason of their political opinions and, if it is, there is a statutory bar to the extradition.

The extradition process under the Extradition Act 2003 affords judicial oversight and includes the protections in the European Convention on Human Rights. In all UK extradition proceedings, the court considers whether the requested person's extradition would be compatible with their human rights. These are defined as Convention rights within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998. The court must order the requested person's discharge from their extradition proceedings if extradition would not be compatible with their Convention rights.