Colombian court denies extradition for rebel accused of kidnapping LA Times journalists

Court: no extradition in journalists’ abduction

BOGOTA — Colombia’s Supreme Court has denied a U.S. request to extradite a rebel commander accused of ordering the 12-day kidnapping in 2003 of two journalists on assignment for The Los Angeles Times.

Gustavo Anibal Giraldo, alias “Pablo,” should be tried in Colombia because the alleged abduction of photographer Scott A. Dalton and writer Alison Ruth Morris occurred here, the court ruled.

Giraldo was also wanted in a U.S. indictment unsealed in December for the 15-month kidnapping of a U.S. helicopter mechanic who was working on contract in an oil extraction region.

The victim, Matthew Burchell, was freed in August 2000 after a ransom was paid, the court said in its decision, which was issued Aug. 26 but not publicized until Friday.

The court’s decision echoed a similar ruling from February, when it refused to extradite to the United States on the same grounds a rebel commander indicted for kidnapping there in the case of three U.S. military contractors held by guerrillas for five years before their July 2008 rescue.

Both Morris and Dalton, a former photographer with The Associated Press, declined comment on the ruling. They apparently were not mistreated during their detention by The National Liberation Army, or ELN and no ransom was paid for their release.

U.S. Embassy officials could not immediately be reached for comment. They have expressed disappointment with the court’s February decision.