Austria Denies Extradition to U.S. Due To Human Rights Considerations

On September 11, 2001, the Vienna Regional Court of Appeal denied the extradition request of the U.S. of December 18, 2001, relating to Sholam Weiss, a New York businessman sentenced in absentia to 845 years in prison for his role in a scheme that bilked millions from an insurance company. Instead, Austria will try Mr. Weiss. The Austria Court based its decision on Weiss’s conviction in absentia and the dismissal by the U.S. Court of Appeals of his appeal on the basis of the Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine.