Russia approves Israeli's extradition to Colombia
Supreme Court accepts request to extradite former Israeli army officer Yair Klein, wanted for training illegal paramilitaries
A Colombian court sentenced Yara Gal Klein, also known as Yair, in absentia in 2001 to 10 years in prison for training paramilitaries in the Andean country.
A former Israeli army officer, he was detained in August as he landed at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. He has said the Colombian military knew about his paramilitary training activities.
"I have just been informed about the decision by the lawyer. I am about to die of grief," Klein's spouse, Michal Bar, told Ynet. "The Russians can deport him to Colombia within a day or two, and this will mean a death sentence for Yair. He must be saved, but now one in this country cares."
Bar claims that Klein was abandoned by the State. "The Russian court was filled with Colombians and Americans who pressured (the judges) to extradite him, and they succeeded. No one showed up on behalf of the State of Israel, and the only representatives at the courtroom were the lawyer and Chabad members.
"I have been told that Yair testified before the court from prison – through a videoconference. It's a shame and disgrace that no one showed up from the Israeli embassy in Russia."
'The State doesn't care about him'
Without a dramatic development in the coming days, Bar warns, Klein will be killed in Colombia. She says that the former Israeli officer received a number of death threats and that it was clear he would be murdered should he arrive in Colombia.
"It's a shame that a IDF lieutenant-colonel, a skilled warrior who saved so many soldiers, is left alone with no one interested in rescuing him," Bar says. "I find it hard to believe that anyone will do anything for him now.
"I have lost my faith in the State. Every year I used to hand two flags on Independence Day, but this year I didn’t. There may be good citizens here, but the State doesn’t care."
Klein was convicted of training the private army of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. In particular, Klein was accused of teaching the militia troops how to carry out high-profile killings such as the 1989 assassination of anti-cartel presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán.
He was convicted and sentenced in-absentia to a 10-year prison term in 2001 by a Colombian court. Since that time, the Colombian police have launched a manhunt for the fugitive 61-year-old, who in 2007 made Interpol's list of wanted criminal.
Last August, Klein was finally spotted and arrested at a Moscow airport by Russian authorities.
