Luka Rocco Magnotta’s return to Canada slowed by extradition process

Canadians officials are already working on an extradition request for Luka Rocco Magnotta, according to a report by the National Post.

Magnotta, who is accused of the grisly murder of Lin Jun — a 33-year-old Chinese student living in Montreal — was arrested at a German cafe Monday after a manhunt spanning two continents.

"Canada has to now submit a formal request for his extradition accompanied by documentation outlining the evidence supporting the request," Julie Di Mambro, a spokesperson for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, said in an email to the National Post.

"Officials with the International Assistance Group (IAG) are working expeditiously in conjunction with officials from the Attorney General of Quebec (the prosecuting authority) to prepare the materials in support of the request."

According to the Post, a crown prosecutor in Quebec will have 45 days to build what is called a record of the case. That record will contain a detailed summary of all evidence against Magnotta, and it will then be turned over to the Department of Justice's International Assistance Group.

Next, the department will submit the record to authorities in Germany, where Magnotta will face a 2-4 day extradition hearing.

That hearing is likely to take place roughly six months from now.

Gary Botting, a Vancouver criminal defence and extradition lawyer, told the Post that a German judge will also hear from the defence — likely a capable and high-profile legal aid lawyer appointed to represent Magnotta — and will then take two weeks or so to decide whether the evidence against Magnotta is substantial enough to send him back to Canada.

Ultimately, according to public safety minister Vic Toews, Magnotta will determine his own timeline back to Canada.

"Obviously if the extradition hearings are waived, that's a much shorter period of time," Toews told reporters Monday according to the Globe and Mail.

"But, if they are in fact contested, those hearings take quite a bit of time."