Developmental Thoughts - Blog: The State-Sponsored Extrateritoral Killings Across the Globe

Saturday, 6. April 2024 - 12:42

The State-Sponsored Extrateritoral Killings Across the Globe

The Guardian in its publication on 4th April, 2024 has recently accused India of extraterritorial killings. However, India has denied the charges and it has never been the stated policy of Govt. of India. However, many countries have been involved in extraterritorial killings of their enemies including political opponents and suspected terrorists in other countries. The killings of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan by U.S. agencies and Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia in Istanbul in Turkiye are recent cases. In the past killing of Che Guevara was attributed to CIA through the Bolivian government. The death of the second Indian prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri is also considered a case of extraterritorial killing. Israel has also been accused of extraterritorial killings of people of the Nazi Party after WW II in other countries.

Why do some governments resort to extraterritorial killings? When an enemy of a country sitting in another country perpetrates or has already perpetrated or committed terrorism or other anti-national activities in that country, and the host country either doesn't take into cognizance of his crime in the other country and refuses to repatriate him for legal action or refuses to take legal action in the host country, then the victim country has no other options except to resort illegal means to eliminate him, because sometimes damage being done to a country by these terrorist or anti-national actor is so grave that it poses threat to stability and existence of the country. Though extraterritorial killing amounts to violation of human right as charges labeled is not tried out in a court, but punishment is given in the form of killing based on conviction. The victim country doesn't have any other option when host country of the terrorist or criminal tries to protect the criminal.

For such cases, a separate international jury should be there for a fair trial of the accused. If they are really found guilty, they could be punished. And in that case, the victim country would not go for extraterritorial killings.