A judge in Chicago on Friday denied a Polish extradition request to extradite a Polish-American citizen charged with murder of a one-time Polish chief of police, Poland's TVN24 news channel reported, according to dpa. Poland has charged Edward Mazur, 60, with contracting the killing of former national police commander, General Marek Papala, in 1998. Mazur has lived in the US for more than 40 years. The US court declined the extradition request on the grounds that Poland has presented insufficient evidence to warrant Mazur's extradition for trial, according to the TVN24 report. But Poland's Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro vowed Poland would try again to bring Mazur to justice on Polish soil. "This is the first decision but not the last. It is not in our character to give up," he said. Ziobro confirmed talks were already underway with the US Department of Justice on the possibility of Poland presenting new evidence against Mazur and a new extradition request. Mazur was arrested by the FBI in Glenview, Illinois in October 2006, in accordance with a Polish arrest warrant that alleges he paid 40,000 dollars to have Papal killed. Mazur argued his US citizenship prevents him from being sent back to Poland to face prosecution.
