Home secretary Jack Straw decided to deport suspected Nazi war criminal Konrad Kalejs . He will not be handed over to a particular nation seeking to prosecute him. There are many cases where extradition cannot, or does not, occur. Extradition was developed piecemeal by particular countries in the 19th century. Today there is no international law which obliges countries to hand over wanted criminals.
Extradition occurs only when specific, bilateral treaties exist between countries.
Criminal bolt holes are steadily being obliterated, as more extradition treaties are arranged. According to a 1998 foreign office survey covering 138 countries, Britain has extradition agreements with 105 countries, including the 33 signatories of the European Convention on Extradition . Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bhutan, Cameroon, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Mongolia, Namibia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UAE, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Yemen are all potential havens for British criminals. A new agreement was made in 1985, which closed the loophole. A celebrated escapee is Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs , who lives in Brazil after escaping from prison in Britain in 1965.