Former district court judge Dan Cohen was remanded to police custody on Sunday
until at least Thursday by the Tel Aviv District Court.
Cohen did not
appear in court, with his lawyer Eitan Maoz informing the court that Cohen was
too exhausted from his Saturday night flight from Peru and requested a few days
to recover and for Maoz to review the case.
Cohen was
extradited from
Peru on Saturday night to be tried on charges of bribe-taking, fraud, breach of
trust, causing misleading information to be included in financial reports and
obstruction of justice. He was able to avoid extradition for more than seven
years.
The dramatic end to Cohen’s attempts not to be sent back appeared
to take a sudden turn, with the press release from the Justice Ministry about
his extradition coming out after he was already en route home.
Cohen fled
Israel in 2005 in the midst of an investigation into allegations that he
illegally used his influence with the Israel Electric Corporation – where he
served as a member of the directorate from 1991- 2001, and as chairman starting
in 1993 – to aid several corporations.
He allegedly received millions of
dollars worth of bribes from corporations Siemens and Rogozin in exchange for
preferential treatment from the Israel Electric Corporation.
Cohen was a
judge from 1978 to 1981, when he was dismissed from the judiciary for ethical
violations.
He was arrested upon his arrival in Israel on Sunday and the
state attorney’s extradition department immediately requested he remain in
custody for the duration of legal proceedings against him, resulting in Sunday’s
hearing.
Israel began to ask for his extradition as early as 2009, and
undertook significant activities toward that goal, including providing Peru with
a copy of the indictment and other legal materials and proofs.
Peru,
which does not have an extradition agreement with Israel, had previously denied
requests to extradite the former judge.
Israel litigated in a number of
Peruvian courts before reaching its Supreme Court, which ordered that Cohen be
extradited.
But until Saturday night, the government had refused to carry
out the order.
It is still not clear what led the Peruvian government to
change its position. One possibility is that media reports indicate that a
recent crime wave has put pressure on Peru’s government to show that it is tough
on crime, especially on foreign criminals. It is possible that this domestic
issue changed the Peruvian government’s evaluation of the wisdom of extraditing
Cohen.
Peru reinitiated contact with Israel about extraditing Cohen on
Thursday, said the statement.