Rights court blocks officer's extradition

STRASBOURG, France, March 18 (UPI) -- The European Human Rights Court in France says a former Israeli officer cannot be extradited to Colombia until a final decision on the matter can be reached.

The international court reached a temporary ruling blocking the proposed extradition of former Israeli officer Yair Klein from Russia, where he has been held on Colombian charges of training guerrilla groups who took part in 1980s terror attacks, IsraelNN said Wednesday.

Klein has been tried in absentia in the South American country and was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.

He was detained in Russia in August 2007 under an international arrest warrant from Interpol, IsraelNN said.

Klein has appealed his proposed extradition to Colombia in the human rights court and in Russia's Supreme Court.

Mordechai Tzivin, an attorney representing Klein, said he is confident the European court will rule against extradition in its final ruling, expected within weeks.

"This case, in particular, is viewed as a political case in Colombia, and because of its special circumstances, it can easily lead to death," Tzivin said. "We are confident that the court will not force him to go to such danger in Colombia."