Friday, July 13, 2001
U.S. Hippie Icon's Reprieve Likely Short -Lawyer
<http://news.findlaw.com/news/s/20010713/franceusextraditiondc.html>
CHAMPAGNE-MOUTON, France (Reuters) - A lawyer for U.S. fugitive Ira
Einhorn said Friday he doubted his client would receive a second temporary
reprieve from France's extradition order to face trial for murder in the
United States. Dominique Tricaud said he did not expect the European Court
of Human Rights to demand a further delay in the deportation of Einhorn,
who fled the United States two decades ago to escape trial on charges of
murdering girlfriend Holly Maddux in 1977. On Thursday, Einhorn, a former
hippie guru and anti-war activist, cut his throat and slit one of his
wrists in a bid to avoid deportation after France's highest administrative
court upheld Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's extradition order. Extradition
moves were later put on hold at least until next Thursday at the request of
the Strasbourg-based European court, where Einhorn's lawyers have lodged an
appeal. "I think it is unlikely the European Court will demand a further
delay to the extradition procedure next week while they examine the matter
in more depth," Tricaud said. "They've given themselves a bit of time, but
I doubt there is that much pressure on France because (the court's request
to delay) is highly exceptional and reserved for extreme cases," Tricaud
told Reuters. He called extradition a political move and urged Jospin to
reverse or at least suspend action until the court had delivered its
judgement. The court has not yet even decided whether the case is
admissible. Einhorn, 61, was at his country home in the village of
Champagne-Mouton, western France, on Friday under house arrest. He was
discharged from hospital, where he was treated for his wounds after first
giving a television interview, late on Thursday. "I am very, very tired,"
Einhorn told a Reuters photographer at his ivy-clad home, where he and his
Swedish wife Anikka posed for photographs beside a nearby lake with his
bandaged neck and wrist clearly visible. Police were stationed outside and
the access road to the house was blocked off. In Philadelphia, where
Einhorn was sentenced in his absence to life imprisonment in 1993 for
bludgeoning Maddux to death, district attorney Lynne Abraham urged French
authorities to take him into formal custody. "We believe that anything else
will be an open invitation for Einhorn to flee the country," she told a
news conference. Einhorn, tracked to France in 1997, denies he murdered
Maddux, whose body was found in a trunk in his Philadelphia apartment. He
says he was framed for opposing the Vietnam War. SUICIDE BID OR STUNT? The
European Court of Human Rights asked the French government on Thursday to
delay Einhorn's extradition following his self-wounding, described by his
lawyers as a suicide bid. Relatives of Maddux have branded Einhorn's act a
stunt to try escape to justice. "Further information on his health has been
requested and on July 19th a decision will be taken on whether to extend
the delay to his extradition," said court spokeswoman Emma Hellyer. Claire
Waquet, another of Einhorn's lawyers, said the main argument in the appeal
was that a 1998 Pennsylvania law that would enable Einhorn to receive a
fresh trial was "too fragile." "Our fear is that if Mr. Einhorn returns to
the United States, he might not be granted a new trial because a judge
could refuse to apply the new law, which goes against both the U.S. and the
French constitutions," Waquet said. France is not legally obliged to follow
the decisions of the European court, but Hellyer said governments usually
did so.
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