Shas Party leader Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz, determined to prevent the extradition of William Nakash to France, is preparing to go to Paris to urge the French authorities to waive their extradition request.
Nakash, 25, an Algerian-born French Jew, was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment by a French court for the 1983 murder of an Arab in Besancon, a city in northeastern France. Justice Minister Avraham Sharir signed the extradition order a week ago after the Supreme Court rejected Nakash’s final appeal.
Attorney General Yosef Harish has urged that it be implemented without delay. The Cabinet discussed the matter last Sunday, but postponed a decision until this Sunday’s session.
Peretz had planned to go to Paris this week, but postponed his trip to try to persuade Harish not to carry out the extradition order. His intention to make a direct appeal to the French drew negative reactions from the Justice and Foreign ministries. But the ultra-Orthodox Minister said he will seek meetings with France’s Premier and Justice Minister.
He said he would point out to them the many occasions in which France has refused extradition requests from other countries.
Meanwhile, the Rabbinical Court here has refused to rescind its order prohibiting Nakash from leaving the country because his pregnant wife would be abandoned.
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