French court delays extradition of Iranian to US

A French court has delayed a ruling on a US application to extradite an Iranian engineer accused of breaking the US trade embargo on Iran.

The appeals court in Paris said on Wednesday that it needs more information before it can make a decision.

The court asked France’s military armament body to provide information about the possible dual use of the electrical components Majid Kakavand is alleged to have purchased in the Unites States and shipped to Iran via Malaysia.

Kakavand was arrested at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport in March 2009 while vacationing in France.

The US claims the Iranian engineer would have needed export licenses to send the electronic equipment to Malaysia.

But Kakavand’s lawyer, Diane Francois, rejected the claim, saying the documents for the deal were stamped with “NLR” for “no license required.”

She added that the US may apply political pressure on the French court over the case.

“I think today the American determination about this case is very strong and I can’t rule out that at any given moment American pressure will be placed on France,” Francois said.

Kakavand also complained about his situation in France.

“I don’t understand it. It is not understandable. My life has been destroyed. It’s eleven months that I am here, six months in jail, for nothing, and it’s not understandable for me,” Kakavand told reporters after the hearing.

“I am really disappointed. I cannot speak about this but certainly there are some political pressures,” he added.

He said that the electrical components he bought on the Internet, such as capacitors, inductors, resistors, sensors, and connectors, are ordinary items.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said that Paris is trying to use the Kakavand case to gain political leverage on Tehran.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also said Kakavand’s detention is illegal since the charges against him are fabricated.