INTERNATIONAL EXTRADITION · EUROPE
Extradition from Lithuania to the United States.
Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania controls the request. Article 3 says extradition shall not be refused based on nationality. The arrest clock and local review path decide what happens next.
THE SHORT ANSWER
In force. The 2001 bilateral treaty entered into force March 31, 2003 and replaced the 1924 treaty and 1934 supplement. It operates alongside the U.S.-EU extradition framework. No authoritative general average was located. Dmitry Ustinov was arrested April 15, 2013 and extradited August 23, 2013; that approximately four-month example is not a forecast. The 2026 Hatipoglu request remained pending when DOJ announced it.
Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
Effective: 2003-03-31
WHAT COUNSEL CHECKS FIRST
The active paper. The country. The clock.
THE RESPONSE ROOM
What has to be established first.
FIRST HOURS
Identify the legal basis for custody
Record the arresting authority, court, case number, custody location, interpreter need, and any hearing date. Ask for counsel before discussing the foreign accusation.
WHO DECIDES
The local record controls
The Prosecutor General's Office receives and supports incoming criminal extradition matters and seeks court action under Lithuania's Code of Criminal Procedure. A competent court examines treaty eligibility, identity, evidence, bars and detention. Following a favorable judicial decision and completion of review, the competent Lithuanian justice/executive authorities coordinate surrender.
THE CLOCK
Deadlines are event-specific
In urgency, a request may pass diplomatically, directly between DOJ and Lithuania's Office of the Public Prosecutor, or through INTERPOL. It must describe the person and location if known, summarize facts and law, identify the warrant or conviction, and promise the formal package. A person may be discharged after 60 days without receipt of the Article 8 request; receipt by the requested state's embassy counts. Later rearrest remains possible. No authoritative general average was located. Dmitry Ustinov was arrested April 15, 2013 and extradited August 23, 2013; that approximately four-month example is not a forecast. The 2026 Hatipoglu request remained pending when DOJ announced it.
DOCUMENT AUDIT
Build the file before the argument
Preserve the notice or warrant, charging papers, identity records, release terms, travel documents, medical records, and every dated communication. Do not alter or delete evidence.
FOR FAMILIES COORDINATING ACROSS BORDERS
Confirm the exact legal name, detention location, medication needs, next hearing, local lawyer, and one reliable contact channel. A consulate may assist with welfare and contact; it cannot cancel the local case.
02 · THE PROCESS
How the Lithuania process moves.
Judicial and executive stages
The Prosecutor General's Office receives and supports incoming criminal extradition matters and seeks court action under Lithuania's Code of Criminal Procedure. A competent court examines treaty eligibility, identity, evidence, bars and detention. Following a favorable judicial decision and completion of review, the competent Lithuanian justice/executive authorities coordinate surrender.
Appeal and review
Lithuanian criminal procedure provides review of extradition rulings; the exact court and deadline depend on the procedural order. Constitutional and ECHR/EU fundamental-rights issues may also be raised through available remedies. Case-specific current Lithuanian counsel is required.
03 · DEFENSES
The request still has to survive the record.
ISSUE
Treaty coverage
The charged conduct, punishment threshold, documents, and identity must fit the controlling treaty and local implementing law.
ISSUE
Dual criminality
Article 2 requires punishment in both states by more than one year or a more severe penalty. Attempts, conspiracies and participation qualify. Offense categories and labels need not match, and U.S. interstate-commerce or mail-use elements are disregarded. The treaty applies regardless of where the acts occurred.
ISSUE
Political and protected offenses
Political offenses are excluded. Head-of-state violence, treaty-based extradite-or-prosecute crimes, murder, manslaughter, serious wounding, kidnapping, hostage-taking and specified destructive-device offenses are not treated as political. A politically motivated request must be denied. The requested executive may refuse military-law offenses that are not ordinary crimes. There is no blanket fiscal exception. Tax, customs or financial conduct must satisfy dual criminality and the remaining treaty/U.S.-EU requirements. Prior conviction or acquittal in the requested state bars surrender for the same offense. Article 6 directs that the decision be made without regard to either state's lapse-of-time law. Competing requests and human-rights obligations may also affect surrender.
ISSUE
Evidence and process
The request can be tested against the treaty standard, authentication requirements, limitation rules, and procedural guarantees that apply locally.
ISSUE
Human rights and punishment
Article 7 permits Lithuania to condition extradition on no death sentence being imposed or, if already imposed, not carried out; accepted conditions bind the United States. Lithuania has abolished capital punishment and is bound by the ECHR and EU law. Courts also assess substantiated risks of torture, inhuman treatment, discriminatory prosecution and flagrantly deficient proceedings.
ISSUE
Specialty and assurances
Article 16 limits detention, trial and punishment to granted offenses, same-facts qualifying or lesser offenses, post-surrender conduct, and offenses later consented to by Lithuania. Onward extradition or surrender to an international tribunal generally requires consent. Protection ends after voluntary return or failure to leave within 10 days after becoming free to do so.
04 · PUBLIC EXAMPLES
Recent public extradition records.
These examples come from public government records and are not presented as Spodek Law Group matters or results.
Bahadir Hatipoglu
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four wire-fraud counts involving alleged bribery and NATO/U.S. military construction contracts
Evaldas Rimasauskas
Wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft arising from a business-email-compromise scheme exceeding $100 million
Dmitry Ustinov
Conspiracy to export military-grade night-vision technology in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and ITAR
05 · THE CHARGES
What appears in the requests.
A Red Notice is not the extradition order.
A Red Notice asks police worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person, subject to each country's law. It is not an international arrest warrant, and it does not replace the treaty papers or the local extradition case.
The notice, the provisional-arrest request, and the surrender proceeding are separate records. Each can carry different defects, deadlines, and remedies.
07 · THIRD-COUNTRY RISK
Transit can expose a person to another country's arrest rules, immigration powers, or provisional request. This page gives no route or evasion advice. Review the actual warrant, notice, release conditions, and jurisdictions with counsel before travel.
08 · QUESTIONS
What families and targets ask first.
IMMEDIATE EXTRADITION QUESTIONS
No. A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest, not an international arrest warrant or a finding of extraditability. Lithuania's arrest law, the treaty record, and the local surrender process still control.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
It can. Border screening may expose a national warrant, INTERPOL data, immigration authority, or a provisional request under another country's law. This is not travel or evasion advice; the actual records and jurisdictions require review before travel.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
Release depends on Lithuania's current law, the arrest authority, flight-risk findings, and the stage of the request. No general website answer can predict it. Local counsel should address custody while U.S. counsel verifies the federal matter and request.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
Not automatically. Extradition, asylum, immigration removal, and non-refoulement are separate legal systems that may interact. The forum, protected status, alleged conduct, treaty, and current human-rights evidence determine which arguments are available.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
COUNTRY PROCEDURE
Yes. The current bilateral treaty entered into force March 31, 2003.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Yes under this treaty. Constitution Article 13 allows the treaty exception, and treaty Article 3 bars nationality-based refusal.
AUTHORITIESwww.govinfo.gov
Yes. Conduct must generally be punishable in both states by more than one year, without identical labels.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
The treaty permits discharge after 60 days without the formal request; later rearrest remains possible.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Yes, but a Red Notice or INTERPOL transmission is not itself a final extradition order.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.govwww.interpol.int
Yes. Article 7 permits conditions that death not be imposed or carried out.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Yes, but the treaty excludes listed serious violence, kidnapping, hostage-taking, destructive-device and treaty-based offenses from the political category.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Ordinarily no unless Lithuania consents or another Article 16 exception applies.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
No. Article 6 says the extradition decision is made without regard to either state's lapse-of-time law.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
No reliable standard exists. One official case took about four months from arrest to surrender, but contested proceedings can differ greatly.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
09 · RESEARCH LIMITS
What the public record does not settle.
10 · SOURCES
Every material claim should have a file behind it.
11 · REGIONAL INDEX
Related country files.
WHO REVIEWS THE FIRST CALL
Start with the paper, the posture, and the first deadline.
Todd A. Spodek leads the firm's federal defense work. The team identifies the active U.S. matter, the country and custody posture, and where appropriately licensed local counsel is required. No webpage can replace review of the actual request.
Todd Spodek - biography and record →SECURE CONSULTATION REQUEST
Put the actual extradition record in front of counsel.
Tell us whether this is an inquiry, Red Notice, detention, hearing, or appeal. The intake team will identify conflicts and the right next step. Urgent custody and hearing matters should call.
212 300 5196 - urgent matters →