LONDON: A British court blocked yesterday the extradition of a former Iranian diplomat wanted by the United States after he was caught in a sting operation trying to export night-vision weapons’ sights to Iran.
Nosratollah Tajik, 59, a former Iranian ambassador to Jordan, was arrested in London in 2006 after agents from the US Department of Homeland Security posed as arms dealers seeking to sell the military kit in violation of arms embargoes.
Britain’s Home Office, or interior ministry, which ordered Tajik’s extradition last year, said it was disappointed by the High Court’s decision and was considering an appeal. The High Court proceedings revealed this year that the British government had tried and failed to persuade the Americans to withdraw the extradition request to avoid endangering British diplomats in Iran.
Tajik spent years fighting extradition on grounds of ill health. The courts rejected these arguments in 2008 and he then appealed to the Home Office with new medical evidence. The Home Office rejected his appeal in November 2011 and ordered his extradition. Tajik launched new court proceedings against the Home Office’s decision, culminating in yesterday’s ruling. But the High Court hearings revealed that for almost three years while Tajik thought the Home Office was considering his medical evidence, the ministry had already decided that ill health was not a valid reason not to extradite him.Reuters
