Extradition of U.S. Teen Advances

An American teenager wanted in a gruesome murder in the United States can be extradited despite his claim of Israeli citizenship, a judge here ruled Sunday.

The decision is the latest step in a case that has strained U.S.-Israeli relations as Samuel Sheinbein, 18, has fought to remain in Israel and evade prosecution in an American courtroom.

Legal experts said the ruling could go far beyond this case by redefining the nature of Israeli citizenship, one of the pillars of the Jewish state.

Sheinbein’s defense attorney said he will appeal Sunday’s decision, and U.S. officials predicted that it could be months before the case is resolved.

Sheinbein is accused in the killing of 19-year-old Alfredo Tello Jr., whose charred and dismembered body was found in September 1997 in a garage in a Maryland suburb of Washington. A teenage co-defendant committed suicide in Maryland shortly before his trial was to start.

Sheinbein fled to Israel two days after Tello’s body was discovered and, despite having never lived in this country, claimed protection under his father’s Israeli citizenship.

Israeli District Court Judge Moshe Ravid said that while he accepted Sheinbein’s citizenship claim, the youth cannot use it to avoid extradition because he has not maintained “an attachment” to Israel.

“The defendant is extraditable because a citizen according to the law of extradition is a person who acquired the status of a citizen of Israel and who professes an attachment to the country,” the judge wrote.

In so ruling, Ravid appears to have established a new criterion for citizenship and the protections afforded citizens, Israeli legal experts said.

Sheinbein’s attorney, former Justice Minister David Libai, said the judge was on questionable legal footing and had suggested that there are “all kinds of Israeli citizenships.” Libai added that he expected to file an appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court within 30 days.

Sheinbein, dressed in a sports shirt, listened tight-lipped to the ruling as it was read in a courtroom packed with journalists. Relatives attempted to shield him from photographers.

The Sheinbein case has triggered outrage in both Washington and Israel. U.S. officials say that Israeli authorities are cooperating with efforts to clear the way for Sheinbein’s extradition. Last year, an angry U.S. Congress briefly delayed the release of millions of dollars in aid to Israel.

Many Israelis have criticized Sheinbein’s efforts to use citizenship laws to evade justice, saying that Israel should not serve as a haven for Jewish criminals.

Israel has been built in part on its Law of Return, which grants automatic citizenship to Jews or the children of a Jewish parent who arrive from anywhere in the world.

The Sheinbein case, however, highlighted the potential abuse of the law, lawyers said.

“This is a revolutionary ruling, from the Israeli legal point of view,” said Moshe Negbi, a leading legal analyst based at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. “It puts a new definition, adding the element of linkage to the country in order to claim immunity from extradition.”

Irit Kohn, a prosecutor seeking Sheinbein’s extradition and head of the Israeli Justice Ministry’s international department, said Ravid’s ruling will set a precedent preventing exploitation of the law.

“This is a meaningful ruling which sends an important message to Israeli citizens who believe that when they are abroad they can commit a crime and find shelter in Israel,” Kohn said.

U.S. officials in Israel, who have pressed for Sheinbein’s extradition, welcomed Sunday’s ruling but said it remained unclear when the fugitive would be returned to Maryland.

“At the beginning of the process, Israeli officials estimated it might take a year or more,” U.S. Embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz said. “We plan to discuss the decision and arrange for Sheinbein’s return to the U.S. with Israeli authorities soon.”