Ex-Defense Secretary Accepts Extradition

Former German junior defense minister Holger Pfahls has decided not to oppose his extradition from France to Germany to face corruption charges over an arms deal with Saudi Arabia, his lawyer said Friday. Pfahls, who is being held in a French prison, is suspected of taking nearly €2 million ($2.6 million) in bribes for the sale of 36 armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia in 1991, and failing to declare the earnings. He decided not to oppose his extradition to his home country based "on his untenable and unacceptable jail conditions in Paris's Sante prison and his declining health," his lawyer, Volker Hoffman, said. Hoffman said Pfahls, who served as state secretary for defense from 1989 to 1992 under Chancellor Helmut Kohl, would probably be extradited "in coming weeks." Pfahls, 61, was arrested in Paris in July after five years on the run. (AFP)