Camilla Broe drug case highlights flaws in Danish extradition law

usa-denmark-littleThe new Danish Justice Minister has criticised the drawn-out case of suspected drug-smuggler Camilla Broe, labelling the ongoing indictment as “grotesque”.

Broe became the first Dane to be deported into a non-European Union country when she was extradited to the US in September 2009. There she was to face allegations of involvement in an international smuggling operation from the Netherlands to Florida; which imported around 100,000 ecstasy pills during the 1990s. She has since been ordered to be released as the Statute of Limitations had expired. Broe has consistently denied all charges.

The concern is that Broe may now end up in further American detention if the US Immigration Authority determines that her time in jail was done so without a US residency permit. Broe is now facing a legal Catch-22 given her lack of residency permission at the time of her deportation and subsequent imprisonment in Miami. Technically this meant that Broe was living illegally in the country which can result in days or weeks further detention by authorities.

New Justice Minister Lars Barfoed has decried the fact that his ministry had acted to deport the woman who they now were attempting to help return home. ”It is grotesque, but these are two different situations that happen to cling together,” said Barfoed in a report by Politiken.

“It is a situation we hadn’t thought about. We felt that there was a good reason to deport her, but it is clear that we must learn from cases,” said Barfoed, who confirmed that discussions were ongoing between US and Danish authorities over the case.

Comments are closed.