Supreme Court rules that Qatar prince may be extradited over sex crimes

The case of a Qatari prince convicted in the Czech Republic for sexually abusing young girls appeared close to resolution on Monday, after the Supreme Court in Brno ruled that he may be extradited to his homeland. The decision marks the end of a bitter quarrel between Justice Minister Pavel Nemec and the Supreme State Prosecutor Marie Benesova.

Hamid Bin Abdul Sani al-Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, was arrested last September and charged with sexually abusing a total of 16 young girls, four of whom were under the age of 15. The girls, who received around 80 dollars for sex, were brought to him by three women who had themselves previously been the man's sexual partners. In May a court sentenced Mr al-Thani to two and a half years in prison, a sentence he appealed, and the three women who supplied the girls were given suspended sentences.

However in April Justice Minister Pavel Nemec decided that it was in the interests of the Czech Republic that Mr al-Thani should be extradited to his homeland to face trial. The Czech Republic has no extradition treaty with Qatar, but Prague had received a diplomatic note from Doha requesting Mr al-Thani's extradition. The Justice Ministry argued that the case was complicating bilateral relations.

Supreme State Prosecutor Marie Benesova argued that Mr Nemec's intervention threatened the independence of the Czech judicial system, and that Mr al-Thani should be tried and sentenced here. That led to a bitter quarrel between Mrs Benesova and Mr Nemec, and between Mr Nemec and the lower courts, who ruled that the Justice Minister had no authority to release the prince. In the end the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Nemec was in the right and Mr al-Thani should be released immediately into the custody of the Qatari authorities.

The verdict sets a precedent for the Czech judicial system. It means the Justice Minister will be able to personally order the extradition of any foreign citizen being prosecuted in the Czech Republic. A German adviser to the Justice Ministry was quoted as saying the Supreme Court's decision would not have been possible in any other EU country.

Mr al-Thani himself left Prague's Pankrac prison immediately, although it's not clear where he is now. The Justice Ministry told the media that the Qatari authorities had promised he would be transported to Qatar on Tuesday, where he faces trial and possibly a life prison sentence. However his lawyer told Lidove Noviny newspaper that as soon as leaves Pankrac he is essentially a free man. There has also been speculation that as a member of the Qatari royal family - he's a cousin of the Emir - he will be immune from prosecution.