Shalom Shtarkes, the ultra-Orthodox Israeli, was back in prison here again today after a hearing this weekend at which a magistrate ruled that the kidnaping of his nephew charged against him by Israeli authorities was extraditable.
The ruling was made by Chief Magistrate Sir Robert Blundell who told the youthful religious teacher that he could apply for a writ of habeas corpus and the ruling would not be applied for two weeks to give him time to decide whether he should seek such a writ. The magistrate also told the defendant that he was entitled to legal aid for a habeas corpus application.
Sir Robert told Alan King-Hamilton, the defendant’s attorney, that after a ruling that the charges were extraditable, he could not grant bail. The defense attorney said, he would apply for habeas corpus. If no habeas corpus writ is obtained, Mr. Shtarkes will have to remain in prison until the British Home Office acts on the ruling for extradition.
The attorney sought a postponement of the case on the basis of a presentation of a Jewish Telegraphic Agency bulletin in which Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was quoted as saying during a debate in Israel’s Parliament that the nephew, Yossele Shumacher, was kidnaped by his aged Orthodox grandfather. The attorney said that if this was the case, then his client could not be charged in London with the kidnaping. The request for post-ponement, to confirm the Prime Minister’s statement, was rejected by the magistrate.
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