Jan

15

Romanian Court OKs Extradition of Former Official on U.S. Export Charges


Posted by at 11:49 pm on January 15, 2013
Category: Criminal PenaltiesIran Sanctions


ABOVE: Aurel Fratila and Bianca
Brad


According to this article, a Romanian court has approved the extradition to the United States of former Romanian Ministry of Defense official Aurel Fratila.  He  is accused by U.S. prosecutors of attempting to export military items from the United States to Iran through Romania. The indictment, which dates back to 2006, can be found here.

Because the export of the items violated U.N sanctions on arms shipments to Iran, they were also illegal under Romanian law, which explains why the Romanian court approved the extradition. Fratila’s Iranian conspirator, Jamshid Ghassemi, was arrested in Thailand in 2006 on a provisional warrant under the U.S. indictment but the local courts denied extradition.

Mr. Fratila is best known in Romania as the boyfriend of Romanian actress Bianca Brad. She, in turn, is best known in the United States for her acclaimed performance  in the 1999 blockbuster film Teenage Space Vampires. According to this Romanian press account, she has posted on her Facebook page (where else would a Romanian starlet post anything?) a defense of her boyfriend, arguing that Fratila is innocent and the victim of a set-up.

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Copyright © 2013 Clif Burns. All Rights Reserved.
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One Comment:


(See http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2491810073/)

Asks Bianca Brad:
“Is this the work of pure evil or what?…”
Answers Dennis Hopper:
“It’s war.”

Great stuff, and somehow released the same year as Teenage Space Vampires.

Comment by MJ on January 16th, 2013 @ 11:41 pm