French judge postpones decision on Iranian sought for extradition by US
By APWednesday, February 17, 2010
French extradition decision on Iranian postponed
PARIS — A French judge has postponed a decision on whether to extradite an Iranian engineer to the United States, where he is accused of evading export controls to buy U.S. technology over the Internet for Iran’s military.
The judge handling Majid Kakavand’s case has asked for studies from France’s government regarding the sensitive case, and scheduled a new hearing on March 31.
The outcome has sensitive diplomatic implications in France, which has trade and oil interests in Iran, despite its tough stance on the country’s nuclear ambitions.
The United States claims Kakavand violated the U.S. trade embargo on Iran. Kakavand and his lawyers say he did nothing wrong and are fighting his extradition.
