FRANCE: A FRENCH COURT POSTPONES A DECISION ON THE POSSIBLE EXTRADITION TO THE UNITED STATES OF A U.S. ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVIST ACCUSED OF KILLING A DOCTOR
Record ID:
648754
FRANCE: A FRENCH COURT POSTPONES A DECISION ON THE POSSIBLE EXTRADITION TO THE UNITED STATES OF A U.S. ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVIST ACCUSED OF KILLING A DOCTOR
- Title: FRANCE: A FRENCH COURT POSTPONES A DECISION ON THE POSSIBLE EXTRADITION TO THE UNITED STATES OF A U.S. ANTI-ABORTION ACTIVIST ACCUSED OF KILLING A DOCTOR
- Date: 7th June 2001
- Summary: (W5) RENNES, FRANCE (JUNE 7, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV MEDIA OUTSIDE JUSTICE PALACE 0.04 2. MCU (English) AMERICAN LAWYER FOR KOPP, PAUL CAMBRIA, SAYING: "His French attorney feels and I agree with him, that there has not been any official assurance that the death penalty could not and would not be imposed on him, should he be extradited. And if so, that would be a violation of the French-American Treaty." 0.20 3. SLV KOPP'S LAWYERS CHATTING OUTSIDE COURT 0.25 4. SV KOPP'S LAWYERS WALKING INTO COURT 0.37 5. PAN EXTERIOR OF COURT ROOM, SECURITY OUTSIDE 0.45 6. MCU (English) HERVE ROUZAUD-LEBOEUF, KOPP'S FRENCH LAWYER, SAYING: "James Kopp's extradition is requested partly on the basis of federal legislation. The federal offences he's been charged with could carry the death penalty. The death penalty has been abolished in our legislation, and the French courts and the French government cannot extradite somebody who could face the death penalty. So we need assurances that there will be no death penalty. And I consider that the very recent ordinary letter that we received here, a letter from the American Embassy in Paris, I consider that this letter is not enough, basically, because it is only a letter from the Embassy, and we need a more solid undertaking. In my opinion it should be the attorney general himself who should sign the letter. We don't even know who signed the embassy letter, we don't have the name of the person who signed it." 1.57 7. CU OF LETTER FROM THE AMERICAN EMBASSY (2 SHOTS) 2.04 8. MCU (English) HERVE ROUZAUD-LEBOEUF, KOPP'S FRENCH LAWYER, SAYING: "It said in the letter that the American government assures the French government that the death penalty will not be imposed on James Kopp and legally speaking, from a lawyer's point of view I cannot understand this part of the letter because it is not up to the federal government of America to decide whether an independent judge can decide to impose one type of sentence or another. In France as well as in America there is this fundamental constitutional principle that the judiciary is independent from the excecutive, so I consider we need clarification, and we need a more solemn assurance at the highest possible level that the death penalty is no longer a possibility in this particular case." 3.06 9. SV KOPP'S LAWYERS CHATTING OUTSIDE COURT 3.10 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 22nd June 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: RENNES, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA53WVPT5VPO2J0J2JV4LKW6AP9
- Story Text: A French court has decided to postpone a decision on
the possible extradition to the United States of a U.S.
anti-abortion activist accused of killing a doctor.
The court in Rennes announced on Thursday (June 7) that
it will decide on June 28 whether to extradite James Kopp to
the United States to face trial on charges of murdering an
abortion doctor in New York state.
A lawyer for Kopp, who is on the FBI's 10 most wanted
list, urged judge Dominique Bailhache to reject the federal
and New York state extradition requests because they carried
no guarantee that his client would not face the death penalty.
Prosecutor Dominique Mathieu argued that Kopp, who was
arrested in the nearby western French town of Dinan in March,
could be sent back as long as U.S. officials provided further
assurances he would not run the risk of execution.
France banned the death penalty 20 years ago and refuses
to extradite suspects who risk it abroad.
Kopp was indicted last October by a federal grand jury in
New York for the murder of Dr Barnett Slepian, who was killed
by sniper fire at his home in a suburb of Buffalo in
northwestern New York state.
A U.S. federal prosecutor, Denise O'Donnell, has said she
would consider not (not) seeking the death penalty against
Kopp if that would ease extradition procedures.
But American lawyer for Kopp Paul Cambria said in Rennes
on Thursday: "His French attorney feels and I agree with him,
that there has not been any official assurance that the death
penalty could not and would not be imposed on him, should he
be extradited. And if so, that would be a violation of the
French-American Treaty."
Kopp's lawyer, Herve Rouzaud-Leboeuf, said an unsigned
letter from the U.S. embassy in Paris saying the death penalty
would not be decided in this case was insufficient.
"In my opinion it should be the attorney general himself
who should sign the letter. We don't even know who signed the
embassy letter, we don't have the name of the person who
signed it", Rouzard-Leboauf said.
Rouzaud-Leboeuf said the independence of the American
judiciary meant judges could still sentence Kopp to death if
he were found guilty of premeditated murder.
"It said in the letter that the American government
assures the French government that the death penalty will not
be imposed on James Kopp and legally speaking, from a lawyer's
point of view I cannot understand this part of the letter
because it is not up to the federal government of America to
decide whether an independent judge can decide to impose one
type of sentence or another", he said.
Kopp, who had been on the run since the killing, was
carrying a false passport when police arrested him in Dinan, a
town south of the Channel port of Saint Malo. Police tracked
him down after intercepting e-mail messages from two New York
anti-abortion activists telling him to pick up a package they
had sent to the Dinan post office.
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