Muslim civil rights and advocacy group calls on Trump administration to demand extradition, prioritize sex crimes against children over criminalizing criticism of Israel’s genocide
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a Nevada judge’s order that an Israeli government official accused of a sex crime must appear in her courtroom virtually or in person after he was allowed to leave the United States following his arrest in Las Vegas earlier this month.
CAIR also called for the Trump administration to start prosecuting real crimes instead of targeting Americans critical of the Israeli government while allowing Israeli government officials to escape accountability for actual crimes.
Tom Alexandrovich, 38, faces a charge of luring a child with a computer for sex acts.
Last week, CAIR filed federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Nevada Public Records Act requests seeking a full public accounting of how Alexandrovich was allowed to leave the United States following his arrest, even as the government detains immigrants based on their speech.
In a statement from CAIR:
“We welcome the Nevada judge’s decision requiring Tom Alexandrovich to appear in court to answer for these deeply-disturbing allegations. There must be one standard of justice for all, regardless of political or diplomatic status. Allowing a foreign official charged with a serious crime involving a minor to leave the country raises serious questions that the public deserves answers to. Our nation must not allow politics or privilege to override the pursuit of justice, especially in cases involving vulnerable children.”
Alexandrovich, head of the Israel National Cyber Directorate’s technological defense division, was arrested during a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sting operation targeting online child sex predators. He was booked on felony charges of luring a child with a computer for sexual activity. Despite the seriousness of the allegations and his status as a foreign national with no diplomatic immunity, he was released on bail, not required to surrender his passport, and permitted to fly back to Israel “on the scheduled date of return.”
CAIR said its FOIA and open records requests demand disclosure of all records, communications, and internal documents related to Alexandrovich’s arrest, bail conditions, release, and departure from the United States. CAIR will immediately make public the results of these requests upon receipt.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com