An Israeli army veteran officer imprisoned in Russia and facing possible extradition to Colombia, where his life would be endangered, has won a critical legal battle in the European Court for Human Rights.
The court rejected an appeal by Russia of its earlier ruling forbidding Russia from extraditing Klein, 67, a former IDF paratroopers officer. While Colombia expressed anger at the earlier ruling, leading figures in both Israel and Europe believe that the ruling has likely saved his life, for two reasons: The broad extent of vilification to which he has been subject in Colombia, and the inferior level of civil rights in Colombia’s prison system.
Russia must still confirm that it will abide by the ruling and allow Klein to return home to Israel, but this appears to be a foregone conclusion, and is expected to occur within a week or two. His lawyer Mordechai Tzivin of Tel Aviv, an international-affairs lawyer specializing in representing Israelis incarcerated abroad and who is representing Klein at no charge, said in a statement to Israel National News: "Based on my long professional experience with the Russian legal system, I am sure the Russians will abide by the ruling. Russia respects international agreements and makes sure to honor human rights, including those of prisoners, whose rights in Russia are better than those in the West and the United States. The Russian soul is not just a theme in Russian literature; it really is expressed in their attitude towards civil rights."
It has also been said that had Russia not intended to adhere to the ruling, it could have extradited Klein two years ago.
Why the Appeal?
In light of the above, Tzivin felt the need to explain why Russia appealed the original ban on extraditing Klein: "Russia wanted to make certain that the ruling does not contradict earlier rulings and that this was not a revolutionary decision, since this was the first time that a case involving Colombia had been adjudicated in the European court."
Tzivin had criticism of Israeli elements, whom he did not name, who "did not make sufficient efforts to mention points in his [client's] favor and help him." On the other hand, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Amnon Lipkin-Shachak told Israel National News in the past, "Everything possible must be done to try to prevent this extradition. His incarceration in Colombia is life-threatening. [He] has many merits in terms of his service in the IDF, where he was in the elite Sayeret Haruv unit in the Jordan Valley during the famous period of the mirdafim, attempts to catch constant Palestinian terrorist infiltrators from Jordan in the late 1960's, though this case goes well beyond this: Any citizen facing the dangers he now faces deserves all the help we can give him."
Klein was tried in absentia in Colombia on charges of training anti-government guerilla groups involved in terrorist activities in the 1980’s, and was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Following the issuing of an Interpol international warrant, he was arrested in Moscow in August 2007, and has been incarcerated there ever since.
Attorney Tzivin said the Colombian ruling "was made illegally and in Klein's absence... The Strasbourg ruling, which is based on reports we submitted from the UN, Amnesty and the European Union, accepts all our claims that Klein can expect torture and dangers to his life in Colombia, both because of the poor civil rights record there and because of his specific situation."