Hasidic arms dealer extradited to the United States

The detention of Haredi businessman Eli Arie Cohen (64), a of Premyshlan chossid, resident of Bnei Brak, who was arrested today at Ben Gurion Airport when he wished to leave the country, was extended .

Cohen was arrested at the request of U.S. authorities after a federal indictment was filed against him which includes accounts of exporting spare parts of Phantoms to Iran and money laundering in 2000-2004.

Eli Cohen has previously been sentenced to six months in U.S. prison for offenses of trafficking American military equipment without a license.

Today he wished to leave Israel to London with his wife, and was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport. U.S. authorities will submit the request for extradition within 60 days.

The extradition case is handled by attorney Nina Mansour from the International Affairs Department of the State Prosecutor's Office, in cooperation with the Intelligence Division of the Israel Police ( Interpol squad) and Lahav 433 unit(YAHBAL).

Jerusalem Magistrate's Court extended the arrest by two days.

According to the record, on Rosh Chodesh Adar I the United States submitted a request to arrest him for extradition.

On the application of U.S. authorities, on Thursday charges against Cohen were filed at the Federal District Court in the District of Connecticut due to the export of military items without a permit from the U.S. State Department, an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to a million dollars.

Cohen is also suspected of selling military equipment to Iran, an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to a million dollars. According to the indictment, he is charged with two episodes of exporting spare parts for fighter planes, Phantom and F-14, which are included in the list of American fighting equipment, on the dates 19.12.2012 and 3.3.2013 as well as money laundering, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to half a million dollars.

Last Saturday a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Federal District Court of the District of Connecticut.

Cohen 's lawyers, attorney Boaz Ben Zur and Walid Kabub told the hearing, "We are currently in a most initial stage. There is currently no procedure except for a request for an arrest warrant. There is no extradition request so we are at an initial stage.

This is a 65 year old man. His sole center of life in Israel is a company which, according to my information, has 17 employees. His place of residence, his children, his grandchildren, are in the State of Israel. He serves as the head of a community in Bnei Brak, a familiar figure in the city, a charity and kindness man, we can achieve the purpose my colleague is using by giving an exit delay and if additional guarantees are necessary, the court will give more reasonable guarantees and that we can finish the case.

"As we understand it there is no commerce, and nothing which comes close to trade, and anything done was done either by permit or has nothing to do with security. There is an authority and this is not controversial in the sense that you see kind of an extradition request. Therefore the central test, not the exclusive, addresses the question of the cause of detention."

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