Happening now.
A former Lithuanian lawmaker appeared close to fainting in a Chicago federal courtroom Thursday as a judge refused to halt her extradition to her homeland, where she faces charges stemming from her claims about the existence of a ring of influential pedophiles.
Venckiene told The Associated Press in an interview from her high-rise jail in Chicago earlier this year that she feared shadowy figures she upset with her accusations about a pedophilia ring and corruption in Lithuania could kill her if she is extradited.
"The judge pretty much signed my mom's death sentence," her 19-year-old son, Karolis, told The Chicago Tribune on Thursday. He said he was convinced she couldn't get a fair trial in Lithuania and that judges would impose a tough sentence if she is found guilty.
The charges she faces in Lithuania include reporting a false crime; disobeying an order to relinquish custody of her 4-year-old niece, whom she alleges was one of the pedophile ring's victims; and hitting an officer as dozens of police pried the girl from her arms in a raid.
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