A Chinese mother and son's fight against extradition from Cyprus to face fraud charges at home took a twist Friday when the court bailed them after not receiving the necessary paperwork.

The mother, 61, and her son, 39, were arrested on December 8 under a warrant issued by Chinese authorities for alleged investment fraud in China between March 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014.

The pair, who reportedly have the right of residency in Cyprus through investment, say they are being victimised for their political beliefs because of their involvement with right-wing lobby groups based in the United States.

The district court in the resort town of Paphos ordered the pair released from Monday on bail of 25,000 euros each, until the paperwork is completed.

Defence lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou told AFP that because Chinese authorities sent the extradition request to the Cyprus embassy in Beijing, the Cypriot foreign minister had no time to authorise the request needed by the court.

"Extradition can only begin after authorisation from the minister of the extradition request which the court did not receive," Efstathiou said.

"Without authorisation, there can be no extradition," he added.

The pair's fight against extradition has won support from US-based lobby groups, including one linked to US president Donald Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon.

Efstathiou confirmed the mother and son are members of the New Federal State of China, a US-based political movement lobbying against the Chinese government.

The group is tied to exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui and Bannon, a China hawk.

The two also had links to another US group that lobbied against China, the Rule of Law Foundation.

"My clients say their case is related to discrimination because of their political opinions," said Efstathiou.

He said discrimination related to gender, religion or political beliefs are grounds for extradition not to be executed.

Efstathiou said he expected the extradition proceedings to take as long as 18 months "due to the case's complexity, not just political character".

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Labour vs luxury: virus tracing highlights China's inequality
Beijing (AFP) Jan 20, 2022
The stark contrast between the lives of two coronavirus patients unearthed by Chinese contact tracers sparked a widespread debate on Thursday over the country's entrenched wealth inequality. One patient recently infected in Beijing went skiing, shopped at Dior and watched live comedy. Another hauled construction waste through the night across China's capital, working more than a dozen odd jobs in two weeks while he searched for a missing son. Chinese authorities regularly release semi-anonym ... read more