A final appeal by William Nakash against his deportation to France will be heard by a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court on July 2, delaying execution of the deportation order signed by Justice Minister Avraham Sharir this week.
Nakash, an Algerian-born French Jew, was convicted in absentia in France for the 1983 murder of an Arab in the city of Besancon. He evaded arrest and fled to Israel in 1985, where he was granted automatic citizenship.
Sharir initially rejected the French extradition request but reversed himself at the recommendation of Attorney General Yosef Harish. The Justice Minister was also under orders from the Supreme Court to show cause by July 7 why extradition should be denied.
The principal argument against deportation was that Nakash’s life would be in danger in a French prison. But a judicial committee in Israel concluded after a study that this was not probable. Nakash’s attorney, Ronald Rot, flow to France Wednesday to try to persuade the authorities to allow Nakash to serve his prison term in Israel.
The 25-year-old Nakash hopes to convince the Supreme Court to void the extradition order because his wife, Rina, is two months pregnant following artificial insemination.
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