WORLD : Greek Court OKs Extradition Order

Greece’s Supreme Court today upheld an extradition order for a Palestinian wanted by the United States in the 1982 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Hawaii in which a Japanese teen-ager was killed.

Mohammed Rashid had appealed a lower court’s decision that granted a U.S. request for his extradition. Washington considers the case a test of Greece’s willingness to fight terrorism.

“The court rejects Mohammed Rashid’s appeal by majority of votes,” said Nikos Sakelaropoulos, president of the Supreme Court’s five-member criminal division.

The final say on whether Rashid is sent to the United States must be made by the minister of justice, according to Greek law. It is unlikely that a decision will be made before the June 18 general elections, however, and Rashid still has time left to serve for crimes prosecuted by Greek authorities.