By ANGELA DOLAND

Source: T

February 17, 2010

PARIS — A French judge postponed a sensitive decision Wednesday on whether to extradite an Iranian engineer to the United States, where he is accused of evading export controls to buy U.S. technology over the Internet for Iran’s military.

The judge handling Majid Kakavand’s case has asked for extra information, including studies from France’s military armament body, before making a decision. Wednesday’s hearing was the seventh in the complex case; a new one has been tentatively set for March 31.

The case has weighty diplomatic implications for France, which has trade and oil interests in Iran, though it has taken a tough stance on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

In Iran, a French academic, 24-year-old Clotilde Reiss, is on trial on allegations of spying, and Iran has suggested Kakavand is being used as a bargaining chip in the diplomatic spat over her case. France says its judiciary is independent.

Kakavand, 37, said Wednesday that he does not believe there is a link between the cases but said there is certainly general “political pressure” at work.

A main point of contention is whether the items Kakavand bought can have sensitive defense uses. A document supporting the U.S. extradition request argued that many items met military standards.

The engineer said the electronics equipment he bought over the Internet was commonplace.

“If anybody can buy nuclear items on the Internet, (then) all the countries in the world will have nuclear weapons,” he told reporters in English after the hearing. “By Internet and by simple e-mails, you cannot buy these (sensitive) items.”

The French judge must decide on Kakavand’s extradition based on whether his actions were illegal in France as well as the United States. Kakavand’s lawyers argue that he violated no laws in France or the European Union — which have no general trade embargo on Iran like the U.S. has.

The United States says Kakavand went online to purchase U.S. electronics — including capacitors, inductors, resistors, sensors and connectors — and had them shipped to Malaysia, then sent on to two Iranian military entities.

The U.S. says he would have needed export licenses to send the items to Iran, a claim Kakavand lawyer Diane Francois denies, saying documents in all six transactions were stamped “NLR” for “no license required.”

The United States accuses Kakavand of exporting goods to an embargoed country, money laundering, smuggling goods and other counts. He was arrested March 20 as he arrived in Paris from Moscow as part of a whirlwind European tour with his wife. He was held in La Sante prison until Aug. 26, then released on condition he stay in Paris.