Spain's attorney general has asked that Egyptian business tycoon Hussein Salem be kept under house arrest, event after he pays his bail of 27 million euros, fearing he might escape from Spain, according to Spanish judicial sources.
The sources added that the judge in charge of Salem’s investigation would rule on the attorney general’s request on Monday. Salem is being held in a hospital at present due to his allegedly poor health.
The sources noted that it would be difficult to extradite Salem to Egypt, as he is a Spanish citizen accused of a crime allegedly committed on Spanish territory.
Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Barcelona Juan Kiral said the charges against Salem carry sentences of three to six years in prison at the most.
“It is difficult to extradite Salem to Cairo even after his trial in Spain,” Kiral said. “No country lets its citizens be tried abroad.”
Kiral said that Spanish law does not criminalize dual citizenship, but has stringent conditions attached to it.
"Challenging the legality of his citizenship cannot be indefinite,” he explained. “It is dropped after a certain period of time.”
“It is very difficult to try Salem in Spain for crimes committed in Egypt,” he added. “The judiciary is independent, and so the judge must be quite convinced of the charges against the defendant.”
“The Egyptian government can either resort to methods of diplomacy, or file a lawsuit through Spanish lawyers to demand compensation,” he said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
