A murder indictment will be filed today in the Tel Aviv District Court against Samuel Sheinbein, the 18-year-old American accused of a grisly murder in Maryland in 1997.
A five-justice Supreme Court panel ruled in a 3-2 decision on February 25 that Sheinbein, as an Israeli citizen, could not be extradited. Yesterday, the deputy president of the Supreme Court, Justice Shlomo Levin, rejected an appeal by Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein for an additional hearing on the extradition issue before an expanded panel of justices.
Rubinstein argued that Israel's principle of not extraditing its citizens is intended to prevent Israelis from standing trial in countries with which they have no connection. This is not the case with Sheinbein, who was born and raised in the United States. The attorney general also noted that Israel's failure to turn Sheinbein over to the U.S. constitutes a violation of the extradition treaty between the two countries.
In rejecting the appeal, Justice Levin noted that an expanded panel of five justices had already heard the matter and that the Supreme Court had established a precedent of only reconsidering its own rulings in "the most exceptional of exceptional circumstances"
Justice Levin also added that proposed legislation to amend Israel's extradition laws might very well change the basis of the Sheinbein decision. This is another reason not to hold another hearing on his extradition at this point, he concluded.
Sheinbein fled to Israel three days after the burned and mutilated corpse of 19-year-old Alfredo Enrique Tello was found in September of 1997. He had never visited Israel previously, but his father, Sol, holds an Israeli passport.
The February 25 decision to keep Sheinbein in Israel infuriated the victim's family and drew criticism from U.S. officials, including Attorney General Janet Reno.
In his appeal, Rubinstein said Israel's laws facilitate citizenship for Jews in order to bring about "the return of Jews to their historic homeland and to build and be redeemed by it - not to establish a shelter for criminals."
Sheinbein may plead diminished mental capacity, an option not available in Maryland.
(c) copyright 1999 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved