Court approves extradition of US murder suspect

LARNACA court yesterday approved the extradition of an American doctor to the US, rejecting the defence’s argument that he would face the death penalty if found guilty of murdering his wife by poisoning her.

Yazeed Essa, 38, who is of Palestinian origin, has been held at Nicosia’s Central Prison since his arrest at Larnaca airport last October after arriving from Lebanon. Defence lawyers said they would appeal yesterday’s decision by the court.

The father of two had been on the run since he disappeared from his home in Gates Mills near Cleveland two years ago after he was indicted on aggravated murder charges in Cuyahoga County.

American authorities believe he duped his wife, Rosemarie, also 38, into taking calcium tablets laced with cyanide, causing her to collapse and die behind the wheel of her car near their home in Ohio in February 2005. It was initially thought to have been a traffic accident, but a post mortem revealed that she had died from poisoning.

The court heard that she had complained to a friend that she hadn’t wanted to take the tablets.

Cyprus does not allow the extradition of suspects if there is a possibility they may face the death sentence. The US said Essa would not face the death penalty, but the defence had argued that there was nothing to stop the charges being amended once he was back in the US.

However, in his 45-page ruling yesterday Judge Elias Georgiou said the defence had failed to produce evidence that there was “a serious possibility or real risk that the charges will be amended”.

He described the defence team’s argument as “supposition” and called for Essa to remain in custody until the extradition. “I judge that all terms and conditions have been met for granting extradition,” Georgiou added.

The extradition order will be handed over to the Justice Ministry for processing.

Essa’s lawyer Soteris Argyrou said the defence would first appeal his detention and then take the case to the Supreme Court.

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