Iran diplomat refused bail
An Iranian ex-diplomat has again been remanded in custody in London over a terror attack which killed 85 people in Argentina.
Hade Soleimanpour, 47, is wanted by the Argentine government to face charges that he helped plan the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires - the country's worst ever terror attack.
He was refused bail at Bow Street Magistrates court at an extradition hearing and will appear for a further hearing on 19 September.
Bail was turned down despite an offer by his government to put up £500,000 for his surety, and a further £205,000 from family and friends.
His lawyers said the Iranian government was prepared to "stake its own credibility" on the case.
District judge Christopher Pratt said the serious nature of the charges, and the diplomatic sensitivity of the case, meant bail would be refused.
The extradition attempt has strained relations between the UK and Iran, which claims the arrest is politically motivated.
Noisy protests
About 50 protesters, mainly allied to the National Council of Resistance of Iran - which opposes the current regime - demonstrated outside the court demanding Mr Soleimanpour's extradition.
They shouted "one last terrorist out of the UK" and unfurled a banner reading "It is time to bring Mullah's regime to justice for 450 terrorist attacks", as the ex-envoy entered the court.
When his wife later left the hearing, she was also shouted at - with one protester pursuing her down the road.
Mr Soleimanpour was arrested earlier this month at the University of Durham, where he has been working as a research assistant.
The Argentine authorities believe the 47-year-old - who was Iranian ambassador to Argentina at the time of the attack - was involved in planning and commissioning the bomb.
He has strenuously denied any involvement.
Iranian president Ali Mohammed Khatami has demanded his release and an apology from the UK government.
And last week Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahani visited London to discuss the matter with UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
The British government says it cannot intervene in what it calls a purely judicial, and not political, process.
Argentina is seeking the extradition of eight Iranian officials in total over the bombing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3191115.stmSoleimanpour again refused bail in UK
London, Aug 29, IRNA - Iran`s former ambassador to Argentina, Hade
Soleimanpour, was remanded in custody for a further three weeks in
the UK Friday after being refused bail for a second time despite
being held on only a provisional arrest request on an Argentinian
extradition claim.
District Judge Christopher Pratt rejected a further application
for bail Friday because of the seriousness of the allegations made by
Argentina, related to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos
Aires, the same reason given in the first application last week.
Counsel for Soleimanpour, Alan Jones, argued that there had been
no reason for his arrest by British police at his home in Durham,
north east England, on August 21, because it was only a provisional
extradition warrant.
He said that his client was "not a fugitive" and that he had
stayed on as ambassador in Buenos Aires until January 1995, when
Argentina recalled its ambassador from Tehran in 1995. Since then he
had travelled to many countries, he said.
The former ambassador on a provisional extradition request, which
does not require Home Secretary David Blunkett to sign an Authority
to Proceed with a committal hearing until Argentina presents
supporting evidence for its claim.
Jones, who acted for Britain`s Crown Prosecution Service in the
1996 extradition case against former Chilean President Augusto
Pinochet, called a witness from Durham University, where Soleimanpour
is studying a PhD, to verify his good character.
He also presented staff letters to the judge at Bow Street
Magistrates Court in central London, about his relationship with the
university.
The counsel suggested that the case was politically motivated and
referred to the Argentinian judge first accusing the Iranian
government of involvement in the bombing in an article for the New
York Times this March, when he gave the paper a 600-page dossier.
He pointed out that British police visited Soleimanpour four days
later to question him about the article. He was further questioned in
a second visit about the bombing and in a third visit, the conflict
in the Middle East was raised.
The district judge rejected an argument from Robert Bland from
Britain`s Crown Prosecution Service representing Argentina`s
application, that the former ambassador`s safety could be at risk if
he was allowed bail.
Bland ironically referred to members of the Mujahideen-e Khalq
(MKO) terrorist group demonstrating outside the court, stating that
the former ambassador`s life could be put in danger from opponents of
the Iranian government if he was released.
Soleimanpour was remanded in custody until September 19, when
Argentina has to submit its full evidence for its extradition
application to be heard.
It is at that date that the Home Secretary has to decide whether
to sign the Authority to Proceed` for a committal hearing to go
ahead. It is also eventually at the discretion of Blunkett to
ultimately decide whether an extradition takes place.
http://www.irna.ir/#2003_08_2918_19_221