Norway's Court of Appeals has decided to reverse a previous rejection of an American extradition request for Michael Kadar, known as "the Ashkelon hacker," in response to the US extradition request, Shavim reported on Wednesday.
Kadar, a 27-year-old man on the autistic spectrum, is currently dealing with a brain tumor and has previously served seven years in Israeli prison after sending a series of bomb threats to Jewish community centers and institutions in multiple countries in 2017.
Among Kadar's criminal actions were phone calls to institutions across the United States, including schools, shopping malls, airlines, police stations, and the Israeli Embassy in Washington. During the calls, he threatened to blow up the targeted locations. The incidents led to investigations and, in some cases, the scrambling of fighter jets.
Kadar's identity was revealed in August 2025, when the Tel Aviv District Court lifted a long-standing gag order, allowing his public identification, Ynet reported.
Kadar's lawyer, Nir Yaslovitzh, said at the time that the suspect's family wanted his health conditions to be publicly known, as the family believed that this way, their son would have "justice" in his case.
The Israeli-American is currently hospitalized in a psychiatric facility in Norway, where he has been under custody since October 2024.
He went to Norway seeking refugee status in the country after being released from his seven-year jail term in Israel. Norwegian authorities initially intended to deport the man back to Israel and release him, a move that was halted after the US requested his extradition.
Human rights concerns as Norway extradites Michael Kadar
As a justification for the request, the American authorities said that Kadar had not been prosecuted for the totality of his offenses addressed in the legal proceedings conducted in Israel.
In November 2025, a Norwegian court initially rejected the American extradition request, a decision that was later overturned by the Court of Appeal. Last week, Norway’s Supreme Court declined to intervene in the appellate ruling.
“This is a violation of human rights, because Michael is in a severe psychotic state, is being forcibly treated with medication, and the Americans are ignoring his condition,” Michael’s father, Gabi, told Shavim. “The Americans want to put him in security facilities that are not suitable for his condition.”
According to his father, Kedar is in mortal danger. “The psychiatrists say he is at risk of suicide. He can’t take it anymore,” he said. “An Israeli court has already ruled that he tried a significant number of times to end his life. Now the situation is completely grave. This is an execution.”
“Not only was he not criminally responsible because of the psychosis, but he was also imprisoned in Israel while ill and suffering without treatment. He was released in a worse condition than when he entered prison, and he is leaving Israel while psychotic. The Americans want to put him on trial for offenses of antisemitism,” the father continued.
Kedar’s father also accused Israeli authorities of ignoring repeated appeals. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ignoring us. We also contacted the Prime Minister’s Office to try to intervene, and they, too, are simply ignoring us.”