Shrien Dewani extradition signed for possible South Africa murder trial

Home secretary Theresa May ratifies judge’s decision for husband of wife dead Anni Dewani to face court abroad The prospect of the British businessman Shrien Dewani being flown to South Africa to face trial over the murder of his wife Anni moved a step closer after the home secretary signed an order for him to be extradited. Theresa May ratified a district judge’s decision that Dewani ought to return to face legal proceedings for allegedly arranging his wife’s killing in a fake carjacking during their honeymoon. Dewani, 31, has 14 days to appeal against the decision of either the home secretary or the district judge and is believed likely to do so. However, May’s decision has been welcomed by prosecutors in South Africa and members of Anni’s family who want Dewani to return to explain in court what happened. Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead in an apparent carjacking in the impoverished Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town last November. Her husband Shrien and taxi driver Zola Tongo were ejected from the vehicle. Dewani was implicated in his wife’s murder by Tongo , who claimed in a plea bargain that Dewani had offered him 15,000 rand (£1,400) to arrange the hit. Dewani has always protested his innocence and fought against extradition claiming he would not face a fair trial and his human rights would be infringed because of the conditions he was likely to face in prison as he awaited trial and if he was convicted. It was also argued that Dewani, who is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression, was too sick to travel. But last month district judge Howard Riddle agreed with the South African authorities that he should be extradited. Announcing May’s decision, a Home Office spokesman said: “On Monday 26 September the home secretary, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed an order for Shrien Prakash Dewani’s extradition to South Africa. “Mr Dewani now has the opportunity, within 14 days, to appeal to the high court against the decision of the district judge and/or the home secretary.” It will be up to the Metropolitan police’s extradition unit to actually organise Dewani’s return with the South African authorities. The decision was welcomed by members of Swedish-born Anni Dewani’s family. Last week 12 members of her family handed in a petition that they said had been signed by 11,000 people asking for the home secretary to back the court’s decision that Dewani should return to South Africa. Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, said the only way for the family to get “closure” was for Dewani to face legal proceedings in South Africa. Tongo’s lawyer, William da Grass, said South Africans would welcome May’s decision to extradite Dewani. He said: “This is very good news as it brings us one step closer to seeing a resolution to this dreadful case. “We have said all along that we want to see Mr Dewani face justice and now we are one step closer to that. “Obviously he has further appeals open to him and the journey is not yet complete, but we are now confident that he will return to South Africa. “Mr Dewani has always disputed my client’s version of events but there are serious allegations against him and it is only right that the matter is heard before a court. “Many South Africans will be pleased to hear that he is likely to be extradited here. “That is not to say that anyone wishes necessarily to see him in prison, but simply to see him put on trial. If after a trial he is found to be innocent then he will be free of all that has been said against him.” Tongo has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and perverting the course of justice. The alleged hitmen, Xolile Mngeni, 23, and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, who are charged with Anni’s murder , kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances, are to appear before Wynberg regional court in Cape Town in February. There was no comment from relatives of Shrien Dewani, who has been undergoing treatment at a medium secure psychiatric hospital in Bristol. Doctors there have said there was a “high risk” he would commit suicide if he was returned to South Africa. During the extradition hearing in London over the summer, experts in the South African penal system called by Dewani’s lawyers during the hearing said some prisons were overcrowded, understaffed and rife with diseases, including TB and HIV/Aids. There was a shortage of medical staff and sick prisoners sometimes struggled to get access to the care and medicine they needed. Gangs in prison used sexual violence to establish hierarchies and as punishments, it was claimed. Witnesses said Dewani would be particularly vulnerable to gang violence because he was accused of a “sissy” crime and because he was an outsider. His good looks and other claims – denied by his family – that he is gay would also make him the target of sexual attacks. Dewani murder case South Africa Africa Theresa May Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 28, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.