Norway to extradite suspect in 1982 antisemitic terrorist attack on Jewish restaurant in Paris, France
The Norwegian government announced that the country is set to extradite a man to France who is suspected of being involved in a brutal attack that killed six people in a Jewish restaurant in Paris 38 years ago.
In addition to the six fatalities, at least twenty people were wounded in the bombing and shooting assault on the Jo Goldenberg restaurant that took place in August 1982.
In 2015, arrest warrants were issued against three former members of the Abu Nidal Organisation, a violent antisemitic group designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom, United States, European Union, Israel and elsewhere, in connection with the incident. The suspects were identified by an anonymous former member of the group.
One of the suspects, Walid Abdulrahama Abu Zayed, currently lives in Norway where he moved in the 1990s. Initially, Norwegian authorities rejected the extradition request in 2015 on the grounds that it would not extradite Norwegian citizens in the majority of cases.
However, the country has recently adopted new pan-European regulations and policy on arrests that meant that French prosecutors could seek to extradite the suspect for a second time. He was arrested, as a result, in September.
Mr Abu Zayed, now in his early 60s, has denied any involvement in the crime and claimed that he has never been to Paris.
The Ministry of Justice cleared him for extradition on 12th November, and following an unsuccessful appeal to the full Norwegian cabinet, it was announced on 27th November that Mr Abu Zayed will be be extradited to France.
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