Israeli citizen who crossed illegally into Jordan to go on trial
The Israeli, Konstantin Kotov, is charged with crossing into Jordan illegally and, according to Petra, “possessing narcotics for the purpose of abuse.”
By HERB KEINONJordanian citizen Hiba Labadi gestures upon her release by Israel, at the King Hussein Bridge crossing near Amman, Jordan(photo credit: REUTERS/MUHAMMAD HAMED)
In a sign of the declining state of Israeli-Jordanian relations, an Israeli citizen who crossed the border into the Hashemite Kingdom in October will stand trial on Monday, Jordan's Petra news agency reported.The Israeli, Konstantin Kotov, is charged with crossing into Jordan illegally and, according to Petra, “possessing narcotics for the purpose of abuse.”According to Israeli officials, Kotov crossed into Jordan because he was wanted by the police in Israel. The officials said that the illegal infiltration of Israelis into Jordan is something that happens from time to time, but is ordinarily dealt with quietly and resolved within a matter of days.Kotov was arrested in late October, the day when Jordan’s ambassador to Israel Ghassan Majali was recalled to Amman for consultation to protest Israel’s administrative detention of two Jordanian citizens – Hiba Labadi and Abdul Rahman Miri – for alleged serious security offenses.The two have since been returned to Jordan.According to a Foreign Ministry spokesman, the ministry is following the case and is in contact with Kotov, his family and the Jordanian authorities. Israel's consul-general in Amman, the spokesman said, has visited Kotov in detention.Jordan's King Abdullah said in New York late last month that the ties between the two countries were at an “all time low.”
