Australia won't extradite Sirul to Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Sirul Azhar Umar, who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, still cannot be extradited to Malaysia, says the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.

The IGP said Australian laws dictate that no capital punishment must be carried out by the country, where an individual is being extradited to.

"The matter of Sirul was raised during my meeting with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) this morning.

"It is still status quo as they will not extradite anyone to a country where the death penalty can be carried out on the individual," he told a press conference in Bukit Aman on Friday (July 10).

He said Malaysian police respect Australian laws, thus the situation remains.

"They would consider extradition if there is no more capital punishment in our country," he added.

Earlier, several representatives from AFP visited the IGP in Bukit Aman on Friday morning.

"They raised the intent of their leadership to strengthen our cooperation.

"We have been cooperating for decades on various matters, including curbing drug trafficking, terrorism and commercial crimes. It has led to successes for both countries," Hamid said.

It was reported last year that Sirul would be extradited back to Malaysia on the condition that an undertaking is provided that his death penalty will not be carried out.

A spokesperson from the Australian Attorney General's Department said that the Attorney General must be satisfied that on return to the requesting country, there is no real risk that the death penalty will be carried out to the person in relation to the offence.

An Australian news portal reported that Sirul's political asylum bid was rejected by a court on Feb 18 last year.