Stella Schnabel, wife of US heir and activist donor James 'Fergie' Chambers, is fighting his extradition to the United States, calling the accusations 'incredible.' Chambers, 41, was arrested last Friday in Ibiza, Spain, on a US extradition request for alleged financial support of Hamas, according to a spokesperson for the Spanish high court. He has been transferred to a prison in Madrid.
Arrest and Family Impact
Schnabel, an actor and daughter of painter Julian Schnabel, described the arrest as sudden and traumatic. The couple was on a family vacation with their five-year-old son when seven police officers cut off their car on a dirt road in Ibiza. 'I said to Fergie: ‘You know what’s happening, right?’' she recalled. The officers handcuffed Chambers in less than five minutes, and Schnabel was prohibited from filming.
Schnabel said she was in shock and hardly slept until she spoke to Chambers on Thursday. 'It’s been very stressful,' she said. The couple also has three teenage children from Chambers’ previous relationship.
Legal Proceedings
The Spanish high court has two weeks to decide on Chambers’ appeal for bail and 40 days to rule on the US extradition request. If denied, the case closes; if granted, Spain’s council of ministers makes the final decision. The indictment against Chambers is sealed. This is the first known case of the US seeking extradition of a citizen over alleged Hamas support, according to veteran attorney Stanley Cohen.
Chambers’ attorney, Josep Riba, expressed concern that Spain’s participation in a conference convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio—aimed at discrediting leftwing activity as terrorism—could influence the case. Riba said the conference 'has raised his family’s concern that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez may comply with the US’s politically motivated attack.'
Allegations and Defense
The US accuses Chambers of laundering $7.5 million wired from an American bank account to Tunisia, where the couple lived, and using the money to support Hamas. Schnabel, who has seen part of the indictment, said the US does not clearly state how Chambers allegedly supported Hamas. She said the funds were used to purchase the football club Club Africain, pay off debt and salaries, and rebuild a training center and youth fields. The club won the Tunisian football league in May.
Chambers, a self-described communist and anti-imperialist, is heir to the Cox Communications fortune. He sold stock worth about $250 million in mid-2023 and has since funded an estimated 100 projects in 20 countries. Schnabel said this includes a $250,000 donation to the Sameer Project in Gaza, which funded a bakery producing free bread during Israel’s siege; support for a free medical clinic in Gaza; and a $100,000 grant to the Zaynab Project for mental health support for orphaned children. He also paid legal fees for members of the group formerly known as Palestine Action in the US, which is proscribed in the UK as a terrorist organization.
Political and Public Support
Thirteen Spanish political organizations and five members of Spain’s congress sent a letter to two ministers opposing Chambers’ extradition, citing Spanish law that allows rejection if the petition is to persecute someone for political opinions. The letter demands US authorities provide concrete evidence of criminal conduct distinct from activism.
Schnabel is working with a legal team led by Baltasar Garzón, the former Spanish judge known for seeking extradition of Augusto Pinochet. 'I feel supported at a high level,' she said. She added that several Tunisians in prison in Madrid recognized Chambers and voiced support, calling him a national hero.
'It’s incredible that this can happen to someone who is supporting people trying to exist and survive colonization and ethnic cleansing,' Schnabel said.
