US seized cellphone of American heir in extradition case, violating treaty protections, lawyer claims
James Chambers, a wealthy activist and US citizen imprisoned in Madrid, had his phone transferred to the FBI without notification to his legal team despite written court guarantees it would remain in Spanish custody during extradition proceedings.
What happened
US authorities seized the cellphone of James "Fergie" Chambers after Spanish police arrested him in July, according to his attorney Aitor Martínez. Chambers's legal team discovered the phone had been transferred from Spanish national court custody to the FBI on Tuesday, despite receiving written assurances from the court that it would remain under Spanish custody while the extradition request was resolved. The defense has petitioned an appeals court for the phone's immediate return and a detailed accounting of its chain of custody and any access to its contents. Martínez stated that Spanish law and the 1970 extradition treaty between the US and Spain both require that possessions of someone sought in extradition remain under the requesting country's custody only after extradition is granted, not before.
Context
Chambers, an heir to the Cox Communications fortune who sold approximately $250 million in family stock in mid-2023, is the first known US citizen the US has sought to extradite over alleged support for Hamas. The charges relate to donations he made to Palestinian projects in Gaza and to a protest against Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer. Chambers has applied for political asylum in Spain, which under Spanish law prohibits extradition until the asylum process is completed. His legal team argues that seizure of the phone violates both Spanish and international extradition law, as well as protections afforded to asylum applicants. The case raises questions about whether US authorities can access evidence from a person still under Spanish judicial authority in an ongoing extradition proceeding.
What's disputed
Whether the US accessed the phone's contents remains unclear. Whether the Spanish judge authorized the transfer to the FBI is contested—Martínez indicates the transfer occurred without proper legal authorization, though the specific chain of authorization is unknown and is the subject of the defense petition.