Yair Klein: Stays in Moscow
Photo: Tal Shahar
ECHR denies Russian appeal over Klein extradition
Former Israeli IDF officer Yair Klein escapes extradition from Moscow to Colombia after European Court of Human Rights denies appeal on ruling to that effect; accepts defense's plea claiming extradition would mean a de facto death sentence
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg denied Tuesday Russia's appeal to the ruling
against the extradition of former Israeli army officer Yair Klein to Colombia. Klein was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison in for training terrorist squads used by drug cartels that operated in Medellin in the '80s and '90s.
Latin Rage
News agencies
Government protests ruling against extradition of a former Israeli army officer Yair Klein, who is accused of training right-wing militias in South American country. 'This mistake puts humanity and the victims to shame,' says Colombian vice president
Klein was arrested in Moscow in August 2007 on an international warrant issued by Colombia, and has been jailed since. His family made efforts for the past three years to prevent his extradition, claiming that extradition to Colombia would mean a death sentence for him.
ECHR justices accepted their plea, and explained that individuals arrested for similar charges in Colombia undergo torture. Thus they overturned the Russian Supreme Court decision that Klein should be turned over to Colombia.
Klein's attorney, Mordechai Tzivin, told Ynet that Russia appealed the original ruling because "they wanted to verify that it does not contradict previous decisions, and that there is no controversial decision here since it is the first time a case regarding Colombia is being tried at the court."
"I'm confident that the decision will be upheld," Tzivin said. "The Russians, as surprising as it sounds, are meticulous about and respect human rights more than nations in the west. The Russian soul is not just a motif that appears in literature, it is also true when it comes to human rights. Therefore, I am pleased that Russia needs to respect the decision."
Tzivin criticized the way that Israel conducted itself with the case. "I am saddened that they shook away from Klein instead of helping him," he said. "Fortunately for us, it ends well."
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