Extradition target Alexander wins – and also loses – in court

ISRAELI-BORN businessman Jacob (‘Kobi’) scored a partial victory yesterday when Judge Collins Parker ruled in his favour and took Chief: Lower Courts in Namibia’s Ministry of Justice, Petrus Unengu off his extradition case.

Alexander, who is wanted in the United States of America on 35 criminal charges, challenged the choice of a Magistrate to preside over an extradition hearing that will determine if Namibia will hand Alexander over to the American authorities to be put on trial. Alexander succeeded in getting Judge Parker to find that as the Chief: Lower Courts, Unengu is a public servant and not a Magistrate, with the result that he cannot lawfully preside at Alexander’s extradition hearing.Judge Parker further ruled in Alexander’s favour that the Magistrates Commission acted outside its powers when it appointed Unengu to hold the extradition enquiry on the US government’s request that its Namibian counterpart should surrender Alexander to the US.The Extradition Act requires the Minister of Justice, and not the Magistrates Commission, to refer an extradition request to a Magistrate for an enquiry to be held, Judge Parker ruled.Alexander however did not succeed with a bid to get Judge Parker to order that only Windhoek Magistrate Uaatjo Uanivi, who granted Alexander bail of N$10 million following his arrest in Windhoek in late September 2006, would in terms of Namibia’s Extradition Act be allowed to preside at the extradition hearing.He also did not succeed in getting Judge Parker to find that the Extradition Act was unconstitutional with respect to the section in the Act that requires a Magistrate to have an extradition target committed to prison, without an option of being granted bail, once the Magistrate in effect finds that the person can be extradited to the country that has requested his or her extradition.Judge Parker’s judgement was delivered two weeks after he had heard two days of arguments on an application that Alexander had lodged in the High Court against the Minister of Justice, the Chairperson of the Magistrates Commission, the Chief: Lower Courts, the Prosecutor-General and Magistrate Uanivi.Judge Parker made no order on the legal costs of the application, with the result that each of the parties in the case will have to bear their own costs.Alexander is wanted in the US on charges relating to allegations that he had committed fraud with the receipt of stock options in Comverse Technology Inc, a New York-based company that he had helped found in 1982 and ran until early 2006.According to Alexander, the backdating of stock options that he is accused of is not illegal in the US, and he would plead not guilty and would “vigorously contest” the charges if he were to be returned to the US to be tried.He is scheduled to make another appearance before a Magistrate in Windhoek in his still-pending extradition case on September 17.South African senior counsel Peter Hodes and fellow South African lawyers Matthew Chaskalson and Anton Katz represented Alexander on the instructions of Windhoek lawyer Louis du Pisani with the hearing of the case before Judge Parker.The Justice Minister, Chief: Lower Courts and Chairperson of the Magistrates Commission were represented by Government lawyer Uno Katjipuka-Sibolile.Alexander succeeded in getting Judge Parker to find that as the Chief: Lower Courts, Unengu is a public servant and not a Magistrate, with the result that he cannot lawfully preside at Alexander’s extradition hearing.Judge Parker further ruled in Alexander’s favour that the Magistrates Commission acted outside its powers when it appointed Unengu to hold the extradition enquiry on the US government’s request that its Namibian counterpart should surrender Alexander to the US.The Extradition Act requires the Minister of Justice, and not the Magistrates Commission, to refer an extradition request to a Magistrate for an enquiry to be held, Judge Parker ruled.Alexander however did not succeed with a bid to get Judge Parker to order that only Windhoek Magistrate Uaatjo Uanivi, who granted Alexander bail of N$10 million following his arrest in Windhoek in late September 2006, would in terms of Namibia’s Extradition Act be allowed to preside at the extradition hearing.He also did not succeed in getting Judge Parker to find that the Extradition Act was unconstitutional with respect to the section in the Act that requires a Magistrate to have an extradition target committed to prison, without an option of being granted bail, once the Magistrate in effect finds that the person can be extradited to the country that has requested his or her extradition.Judge Parker’s judgement was delivered two weeks after he had heard two days of arguments on an application that Alexander had lodged in the High Court against the Minister of Justice, the Chairperson of the Magistrates Commission, the Chief: Lower Courts, the Prosecutor-General and Magistrate Uanivi.Judge Parker made no order on the legal costs of the application, with the result that each of the parties in the case will have to bear their own costs.Alexander is wanted in the US on charges relating to allegations that he had committed fraud with the receipt of stock options in Comverse Technology Inc, a New York-based company that he had helped found in 1982 and ran until early 2006.According to Alexander, the backdating of stock options that he is accused of is not illegal in the US, and he would plead not guilty and would “vigorously contest” the charges if he were to be returned to the US to be tried.He is scheduled to make another appearance before a Magistrate in Windhoek in his still-pending extradition case on September 17.South African senior counsel Peter Hodes and fellow South African lawyers Matthew Chaskalson and Anton Katz represented Alexander on the instructions of Windhoek lawyer Louis du Pisani with the hearing of the case before Judge Parker.The Justice Minister, Chief: Lower Courts and Chairperson of the Magistrates Commission were represented by Government lawyer Uno Katjipuka-Sibolile.