Colombia rebukes European human rights court

The Colombian government is protesting a ruling against the extradition of a former Israeli army officer accused of training right-wing militias in the South American country.

Yair Klein is jailed in Moscow on Colombia's extradition request. The European Court of Human Rights has recommended that Klein not be extradited for fear he would not receive a fair trial and other issues.

Vice President Francisco Santos said Saturday the nonbinding court decision would deny justice to victims of the paramilitaries.

According to Santos, "The court ruling is a black mark for human rights across the world, which prefers to provide immunity to the crimes committed by Klein and his trainees from the militias, and denies truth and justice from their victims.

"Moreover, this is a mistake putting humanity, the victims and the human rights enterprise to shame," said the Colombian vice president, denying claims made by Klein to his European judges, that the Colombian authorities may torture him.

"It’s a disgrace that Klein is making these claims, when neither he nor those he instructed honored the rights of hundreds of victims, including presidential candidates, lawyers, legalists and journalists.

"Colombia has expressed its concern over this line of decisions, which presents double standards for treating human rights violators: While they demand from us not to provide them with immunity, they allow immunity for a war criminal who confessed to his crimes," Santos concluded.

Klein is accused of helping set up training camps for private armies working for drug lords that later morphed into Colombia's right-wing militias.

He denies working with Colombia's cocaine cartels but says he instructed paramilitaries in defense tactics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report