In re Extradition of Khaled Mohammed El Jassem: The Demise of the Political Offense Provision in U.S.-Italian Relations

This Comment argues that the Al-Jawary decision is justified and that the cooperation achieved between the United States and Italy in this case reveals the importance of adhering to legal channels in the extradition of terrorists. Part I examines the history of extradition and reviews the respective approaches to the political offense doctrine adopted by both the United States and Italy. Part II discusses the factual and procedural background of AI-Jawary, the judgment of the Court of Cassation, and the reasoning behind the Court\u27s opinion. Part III argues that AI-Jawary represents a proper interpretation of the political offense doctrine under current Italian jurisprudence and parallels prevailing U.S. law governing application of the political offense provision to terrorist crimes. This Comment concludes that the successful extradition of Al-Jawary via the U.S. and Italian authorities designated to handle extradition is the appropriate way for the United States to bring international terrorists to justice. As Al-Jawary reflects, adhering to proper channels to apprehend criminals permits the United States to strengthen continued mutual cooperation in legal matters with its allies and encourages a uniform approach to the political offense doctrine