The Israeli delegate to the European Committee on Criminal Affairs, which is drawing up a new European extradition treaty proposed that crimes against humanity, mistreatment of POWs and terrorist attacks should be considered common law criminal offenses and be extraditable.
The Israeli-sponsored resolution was defeated by only two votes after seven countries voted in its favor, nine against and four abstained. Among the countries supporting the resolution were Holland, France, Italy and Austria. The Israeli resolution was defeated by the combined votes of the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, West Germany and Turkey.
The Israeli delegate, Foreign Ministry Legal Advisor Meir Rosenne, told the committee which met in Strasbourg that “criminals hurting or killing innocent people should be extradited and not protected by the claim that they have acted out of political considerations.” Rosenne said that a previous study conducted by European Parliament legal experts had reached a similar conclusion. The European Committee on Criminal Affairs is affiliated with the European Parliament in Strasbourg and advises in the drawing up of joint European legislation.
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