The Spanish government has cleared the way for US authorities to pursue the extradition of American millionaire and Gaza donor James “Fergie” Chambers, sending the case to the country’s courts for judicial review.
The Council of Ministers approved the extradition request on Tuesday, allowing the case to enter its judicial phase and bringing Chambers closer to a possible transfer to the United States.
Spanish officers in unmarked police vehicles arrested Chambers, 41, on July 10 on the island of Ibiza as he travelled with his partner and their son to look at schools.
His arrest followed an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of the United States, his lawyer, Baltasar Garzón, said.
Chambers, an heir to part of the Cox Media fortune, reportedly sold his stake three years ago for about 250 million dollars.
He has long supported Palestinian human rights, while Spain’s government has strongly criticised Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, described it as genocide, imposed an arms embargo and recognised the State of Palestine.
Chambers’ critics have pointed to his online support for the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks and his anti-American rhetoric, including his description of the US as the “Great Satan.”
He has been held at Aranjuez prison near Madrid since his arrest and has also filed an asylum claim in Spain.
The indictment against Chambers remains sealed, but Garzón said US prosecutors had charged him with money laundering, including transferring more than 7.5 million dollars to a Tunisian football club, as well as riot and conspiracy to riot.
The riot-related charges stem from 2023 protests at facilities of an Israeli arms manufacturer in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Garzón disputed the money-laundering allegation, saying the transfer to the Tunisian football club was used to settle debts, pay salaries and cover personal expenses.
He argued that the money was not illegally sourced and therefore did not constitute money laundering under Spanish law.
He also challenged the riot allegations, saying Chambers was not in Massachusetts when the protest took place but was in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Four people who participated in the New Hampshire protest were sentenced to 60 days in prison each, while Chambers faces up to five years if convicted of riot and conspiracy to riot over the same episode.
Chambers’ lawyers have described the charges as politically motivated.
“We must respect the decision of the Council of Ministers. However, it sets a dangerous precedent regarding the defense of the Palestinian cause,” Garzón said in a statement.
Garzón, who previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange alongside Chambers’ US lawyer, Barry Pollack, said Spain could not simultaneously defend international law and Palestinian rights while allowing an extradition request he described as showing signs of political persecution.
He said Chambers had donated much of his fortune to humanitarian projects in Gaza, including a bakery, a community kitchen, mobile clinics and reconstructive surgery for children wounded during the war.
Garzón also cited US measures under the Trump administration, including 2025 sanctions linked to the International Criminal Court and a broader memorandum on NGO funding, as part of his argument that Chambers was being politically persecuted.
Relations between the Trump administration and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government have been strained in recent months, with US President Donald Trump criticising Sánchez over Spain’s opposition to the war in Iran and its immigration policies.
Spain’s governing left-wing Sumar coalition had urged the government to block the extradition.
“The extradition amounts to the criminalization of solidarity with Palestine,” said Enrique Santiago, Sumar’s deputy parliamentary spokesperson.
Ione Belarra, a member of Spain’s Congress of Deputies and secretary-general of Podemos, described Chambers as “the first political prisoner in Spanish history being imprisoned because of his support for Palestine.”
Spanish government spokesperson Elma Saiz said the government had taken a procedural step and that Chambers would have all necessary safeguards during the National Court’s consideration of the extradition request.
“We must now let the National Court and Mr. Chambers’ defense team do their work,” Saiz said, adding that a final decision would follow the court’s ruling.
Chambers’ partner, US actress Stella Schnabel, is three months pregnant with their second child. She expressed concern that Chambers could spend the first year of their child’s life in detention without having been convicted of a crime.
CNN
