The Court Orders Justice Minister to Reconsider His Rejection of a Request by France to Extradite Na

The Supreme Court ordered Justice Minister Avraham Sharir Tuesday to reconsider his decision of last December 4 to reject a request by France for the extradition of William Nakash, convicted in absentia by a French court for the murder of an Algerian Arab in 1983 in Besancon in eastern France.

The ruling, by a five-justice panel with one dissent, was interpreted by legal experts as a clear instruction to the Justice Minister to produce overwhelming reasons to deny extradition. They said the “due time” suggested by the court for Sharir to comply could be from 60-100 days.

The court’s decision fell far short of ordering the extradition of Nakash, 26, a Jew of North African origin who escaped from France before his trial and found haven in Israel. It was hailed therefore as a victory by the nationalist and religious elements who support Nakash.

But the Laborite, liberal and leftist groups which demand that Israel, as a nation of law, must extradite the fugitive, saw the high court’s order as a rebuke to Sharir for having acted hastily, on insufficient grounds and in disregard of due process. It was a clear victory for law and justice, they said.

THE CASE AGAINST EXTRADITION

The case against extradition made by Nakash’s supporters claims his life would be in jeopardy if he was confined to a French prison. The Orthodox rabbis who back Nakash say his imprisonment in France would make an “aguna” (abandoned woman) of his wife, Rina, whom he married after reaching Israel. Under religious law she could not divorce him if she wished to.

Nationalists, who oppose the extradition of any Jew on principle, claim moreover that Nakash did not commit a criminal act but rather a “defensive act against anti-Semitism” when he killed the Arab, Abdelali Hakkar. But the French court that convicted him found no evidence of anti-Semitism as a motivation for the crime. It was characterized as the outcome of a quarrel between two individuals on the fringes of the underworld in Besancon.

That description was given credence by the fact that one of Nakash’s accomplices was an Arab, Hassen Hamoudi, a boyhood friend of Nakash.

Attorney General Yosef Harish who once referred to Nakash as “worthless trash,” refused to appear before the Supreme Court to argue on behalf of the Justice Minister.

The court acted on appeals against Sharir’s decision by the Citizens Rights Movement (CRM), Mapam and six Hebrew University law professors. A counter-appeal was lodged by Likud and the Tehiya Party.

The sole dissent from Tuesday’s ruling was made on grounds that the appellants had no direct interest and no legal standing in the case.

Sharir said he and his legal advisors in Israel and abroad would make a careful study of the issues involved before rendering a decision. Nakash meanwhile is confined to jail awaiting the outcome.