Iran Press/Europe: The court in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, also rejected a bail request by the Iranian engineer, Jalal Rohollahnejad, 41, who has been detained since Feb. 2 after being arrested at Nice airport as he got off a plane coming from Tehran via Moscow.
French prosecutors urged an appeals court to approve the extradition of an Iranian engineer to the United States after his arrest for violating American sanctions against Tehran, Reuters reported.
According to court officials, two US judges for the District of Columbia suspect Rohollahnejad was involved in a bid to export sensitive industrial equipment to Iran.
At Tuesday’s hearing in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence, his lawyers denied the charges, saying they were simply part of Washington’s campaign to cut off Iran’s economic lifelines.
“Is it possible that the court has forgotten the situation between the US and Iran, two countries in a cold war?” said one lawyer, Jean-Yves Le Borgne.
A decree by the French prime minister is still necessary for the extradition to go ahead.
If convicted in US for his alleged actions, Rohollahnejad could face up to 60 years behind bars. 105/205
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