The head of the Egyptian community in Spain has said he met last month with Spain’s deputy justice minister, who assured him the Spanish government will be committed to extraditing businessman Hussein Salem if the appeals court upholds the decision.
Ibrahim Abul Rouss on Saturday told the privately owned satellite channel CBC, “We’ll win the second round as we did the first one.”
Abul Rouss said the court proved Salem was involved in corruption and that the prosecution made a new case that demonstrated the integrity of the Spanish justice system.
Salem, a former partner of the East Mediterranean Gas Company, faces charges of corruption related to the gas deal signed between Egypt and Israel. President Hosni Mubarak and his son Gamal also face charges in the case.
A close friend of Mubarak, Salem fled to Spain during Egypt’s 25 January uprising last year. Egypt called on Interpol after Mubarak’s resignation to arrest Salem on charges of bribery, abuse of power and squandering public money.
The International Court of Justice in Madrid in February started to review Egypt’s request for Spain to extradite Salem, who also faces charges of money laundering in Spain.
On Friday, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Amr Roshdy said the Spanish attorney general told Egypt’s ambassador to Spain that the Spanish court has decided to extradite Salem and his son Khaled to Egypt, though it was still considering the case of Salem’s daughter.
Ahmed Saad, foreign cases adviser at the Illicit Gains Authority, said if the appeals court upholds Salem’s extradition, it will be on two conditions: to drop the rulings against Salem issued in absentia and to bring him to re-trial, and to allow him the opportunity to carry out his sentence in Spain.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
