Time of mother's arrival in Estonia still unknown in Suure-Lähtru case

The mother of the infant found dead in Suure-Lähtru in February is still in detention in Morocco, and neither the prosecutor's office nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can predict when she will arrive in Estonia.
Estonia has submitted to Morocco the necessary arrest warrant and request for extradition of the person, according to the prosecutor's office, the documents arrived in Morocco in early April.
Maarja Germann, senior prosecutor at the Western District Prosecutor's Office, told ERR that the further extradition process will depend on the Moroccan legal system, its legislation and judicial systems, and that it is therefore impossible to predict how long the extradition process will take.
"Estonia has no previous experience of extradition with Morocco, so we do not know how long the extradition process might take in practice. Just as when an Estonian state decides to extradite, Morocco has its own procedures and conditions that must be met before a prisoner can actually be transferred to another state. In practice, it is quite common for the extradition process to take some time," Germann said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also involved in the extradition process. They told ERR that all parties have been contacted.
"Procedures vary greatly from country to country. For our part, we have told the Moroccan authorities that we hope for their cooperation and for the fastest possible completion of the Moroccan domestic procedure so that the person can be extradited to Estonia," the ministry said.
In the village of Suure-Lähtru, Lääne-Nigula Municipality, Lääne County on February 5, a family pet dog brought the body of a newborn baby into the farmyard. The police launched an extensive search to find the infant's mother. DNA samples established that the infant's mother is a 30-year-old Estonian citizen. Thanks to international cooperation, the police were able to trace her identity and whereabouts, and the Moroccan police detained her.
Prosecutors have said that because they have not been able to take a statement from the woman, they cannot say what led to the tragic events and whether the woman may have been a victim of the crime herself.
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Editor: Kristina Kersa