Last update - 00:00 21/03/2007
Argentine court rejects Israeli bid to extradite convicted killer
By Nir Hasson and Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondents
Argentina's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected for the second time Israel's request to extradite convicted murderer Moshe Ben-Ivgi, who fled Israel on a forged passport while on furlough from prison.
Moshe Ben-Ivgi was 14 when he and his friend Arbel Aloni killed taxi driver Derek Roth in 1994. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Then, after robbing a grocery store while on furlough, Ben-Ivgi was sentenced to five additional years in prison.
Two and a half years ago, on another furlough from prison, Ben-Ivgi managed to flee to Argentina with a forged passport. He was arrested in Argentina six months later, and Israel requested his extradition, although there is no extradition agreement between the two states.
At the end of 2006, Argentina's Supreme Court rejected the extradition over a legal technicality, and Israel was given a 30-day period in which to resubmit the request. Due to an unknown reason, the second extradition request was not submitted on time.
When the extradition was finally submitted several weeks ago, Argentina again rejected it because of the delay.
Ben-Ivgi's Argentine attorney told Haaretz on Wednesday that according to senior sources in the district court, the judges had decided not to reconsider the case. The lawyer also said that the case could not be reviewed by Argentina's Supreme Court again. As a result, Israel can no longer request the extradition.
Last Friday, the issue of Ben-Ivgi's illegal entry into the country through the use of forged documents - a crime punishable by three years incarceration - was reviewed by an Argentine district court, which is expected to give its ruling on the matter within the week.
Ben-Ivgi has already served 30 months in an Argentine prison, and his attorney estimates the he will be released within the next few days.
Ben-Ivgi was arrested in Buenos Aires on October 16, 2004, and a court there decide subsequently that he could be extradited to Israel on condition that he only serve a maximum of five years. This is the sentence that was imposed on him when he was no longer a minor and he robbed a grocery store during an earlier furlough in 1998.
Under Israeli law, Ben-Ivgi would have had to face another trial for fleeing. But under Argentine law, a minor of age 14 cannot be held criminally responsible for his acts.
More from Haaretz on Ben-Ivgi's extradition case