Hamas leader may be released from American prison

Hamas leader has two paths out of American prison
Either Israeli prison or freedom
The leader of the Palestinian extremist group Hamas, Musa Mohammed Abu Marzouk, has demanded his release from prison after the US government failed to comply with a court order to extradite him to Israel. As reported by Reuter, the issue of Marzuk's fate began to be discussed yesterday by a New York court.

In January, Musa Mohammed Abu Marzouk accepted the court's extradition order. However, his lawyers now argue that, under federal law, the US government should have extradited him to Israel no later than March 28, and otherwise released him. Federal prosecutors insist that this deadline does not expire until April 6. Hearings on this issue began yesterday.
“This is the first time in U.S. extradition practice that a person who is subject to removal and does not object to it is not removed for political reasons, preferring to keep him in federal prison,” says the petition, filed Monday in Manhattan federal court.
A federal judge ordered Abu Marzouk's extradition last year, and it was upheld by another judge in October. Abu Marzouk initially appealed to have the decision reviewed, but in January his lawyers said he was abandoning his claim.
American authorities apparently tried to avoid expelling Abu Marzouk for fear that it would lead to more terrorist attacks.
Abu Marzouk was arrested on July 25, 1995 upon arrival at New York airport - immigration officials found his name on a list of people "with or suspected of having ties to terrorist organizations."
That same year, Israel formally asked the United States to extradite Marzouk, who, between 1990 and 1994, participated in the preparation of numerous bombings and assassinations, and also supplied money and led the combat unit of Hamas. Abu Marzouk denies any involvement in the violence.
Abu Marzouk was educated in the United States and lived for many years in Virginia, where he has his own home and business. But Israeli authorities say he traveled frequently to the Middle East and did much to stall the peace process.

MARIA Kommersant-Mushinskaya

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 44 dated 04/03/1997, p. 4