An Israeli businessman has been held in a Chinese jail for nearly four months without a trial, his lawyer and family say. Dato Mansharove, 32, of Or Yehuda, was detained at the end of December by Chinese customs officials as he crossed the border from Hong Kong to the Chinese city of Shenzhen for failing to declare second-hand cell phones in his possession. Mansharove was bringing approximately 450 second-hand cell phones to Shenzhen for repairs. According to Mansharove’s lawyer, David Buxbaum, the Israeli’s failure to declare the phones to customs should at most have warranted a fine.
The Israeli government has sent consular agents to meet with Mansharove but has not negotiated for his release. His family and lawyer, claiming that Mansharove’s time in the Chinese jail is affecting his physical and mental well-being, have asked Israeli authorities to step up their involvement in the case. An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman told The Jerusalem Post, “We don’t know of any claim of discrimination because [Mansharove] is an Israeli or a Jew, and as far as we know he’s in a good mental and physical state.”
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