CAIRO: Spain's International Court in Madrid on Thursday began considering Egypt's request for the extradition of Hussein Salem, an Egyptian business tycoon who is wanted on charges of money laundering and exporting Egyptian gas to Israel at lower rates along with the former President Hosni Mubarak. Salem appeared in court on Thursday for the first time, sitting in a wheelchair, and the Spanish court announced that it will issue its verdict within three weeks. The Spanish Public Prosecutor confirmed to the court Egypt's right in requesting Salem's extradition to be tried on its territory, especially “since the Egyptian government has fulfilled all the legal requirements necessary for the extradition request.” The Spanish prosecutors added that “it is necessary that the Spanish authorities respond to Egypt's request to hand over Salem in light of the convention against corruption, signed by both countries, which is part of the Spanish law.” The Spanish prosecutors continued to say that “it has been shown from the documents submitted by Egypt that Hussein Salem holds an Egyptian passport, and that he traveled to several countries during the period from 2008 to 2011 from Egypt back and forth.” For his part, the defense team of Salem called on the court not to extradite his client to Egypt due to the his deteriorating health condition and illness and that “there is fear of his trial in light of the emergency law in force in Egypt and [Salem] would not receive the necessary medical care in Egyptian prison.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/bMepJ Tags: Court, Extradition, Salem, Spain Section: Egypt, Europe, Latest News
