Xinhua News Agency
February 17, 2007 Saturday 7:00 AM EST
U.S. urges Cyprus to help extradite former UN official
NICOSIA
U.S. congressmen have asked Cyprus to help bring to trial Benon
Sevan, a former UN official who headed the scandal-ridden
oil-for-food program for Iraq, the latest edition of Cyprus Weekly
reported.
Sevan, a Cypriot of Armenian descent, was indicted in New York last
month on charges of bribery and corruption in connection with the
oil-for-food program.
According to an indictment released by a U.S. federal court in New
York, the former UN official was accused of receiving 160,000 U.S.
dollars in kickbacks from Nadler, brother-in-law of former UN
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, on behalf of the Iraqi
government.
The Cyprus government has confirmed that Sevan is currently staying
in the island country, but due to absence of any extradition treaty
between Cyprus and the U.S., citizens from either country can not be
extradited without the approval of the Attorney General of that
country.
The U.S. Justice Department then requested Sevan’s extradition
through international law enforcement agency Interpol.
Recently, two U.S. congressmen, Republican Tom Lantos who chairs the
House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and another
Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, sent a letter to Cypriot
ambassador in the U.S. for help in extradition of Sevan.
The two congressmen said Cyprus’ membership in the European Union was
seen as "heralding a new era of international cooperation by your
country."
"In this context, we trust that your government will undertake robust
efforts to investigate, locate and extradite Mr Sevan, so that he may
be fairly tried for his alleged violations of United States law and
international confidence," they wrote.
If convicted, Sevan could be sentenced to 50 years in prison while
Nadler faces up to 112 years.
But a statement issued by Sevan’s lawyer claimed that the U.S. has
decided to use Sevan as a "scapegoat and a distraction from the
United States’ own massive failures and mismanagement in Iraq. "
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress