A Malaysian court in Kuala Lumpur has postponed the trial of an Israeli accused of possessing and smuggling weapons and ammunition into the country.
Judge Norina Zainol Abidin agreed to the defence lawyer’s request to postpone the hearing into Avitan Shalom’s case until a Hebrew translator is provided, despite the defendant’s proficiency in English.
The language issue was raised when the trial resumed last week, about nine months after Shalom’s arrest in March of last year.
This is the third time that the court has been forced to adjourn the trial pending the availability of a translator. The judge said, after adjourning the trial: “We are trying our best to get a Hebrew interpreter to interpret the evidence from the prosecution witnesses, but we cannot confirm the date. Therefore, as far as today is concerned, I will adjourn this matter to tomorrow.”
“But be prepared if there is no Hebrew interpreter available, the court’s interpreter will interpret to you [Avitan] in English using simple language,” she added.
Shalom holds American citizenship in addition to Israeli nationality.
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Last March, Malaysian authorities announced the seizure of six weapons and about 200 bullets in Shalom’s possession in a hotel located in central Kuala Lumpur.
At the time of his arrest, Shalom claimed that he was preparing for a revenge operation in Malaysia, as part of the activities of organised Israeli gangs, but circles close to the Malaysian government did not rule out the possibility that Shalom was linked to the activities of the Israeli foreign intelligence agency (Mossad) on Malaysian territory. Some activities had been thwarted in the past, according to announcements.
Malaysian sources familiar with the case said that authorities found an Israeli passport in the possession of the defendant during a routine search at a hotel near the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers. Once the passport was discovered, his belongings at the hotel were searched, leading to the discovery of weapons and ammunition.
Following Shalom’s questioning, Malaysian authorities dismantled a cell smuggling weapons from neighbouring Thailand and arrested about 16 of its members, all of whom were locals.
Except for brief police statements about the arrest, the Malaysian government has remained silent while waiting for the case to be resolved in court.
Avitan, 38, faces two charges of illegally trafficking six guns and unauthorised possession of 158 bullets, the lawyer, Jeffrey Ooi, has said. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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