Thursday, November 17, 2005

Extradition update

Bits of news on a couple of cases concerning extradition from Britain and Ireland to the US that we have been watching. Somewhat predictably, Sean Garland, the leader of the Workers Party, has decided to jump bail and return to the Republic from the address in Northern Ireland at which he was supposed to remain pending an extradition request by US authorities on counterfeiting charges. His case now becomes a headache for the government in the Republic, which according to Wednesday's Irish Times (subs. maybe req'd) will receive a similar request from the US.

Somewhat different is the status of Babar Ahmad, whom the UK Home Secretary has decided to extradite to the US on charges of supporting terrorism. Unlike Ian Norris and NatWest Three, Ahmad is actually been sought for offences for which the UK's 2003 extradition law was intended. But under this law, the US was not required to demonstrate to UK courts that they had a case, and the fate of non-citizen terrorism suspects in US custody should be a cause of concern. Ahmad has several levels of appeal before that eventuality.

UPDATE: More on Ahmad's case via Mike Power. And [28 Nov], our account of Garland's return to the Republic is incomplete. He had already left the address in Northern Ireland as part of an agreed change in his bail conditions to have treatment for chronic diabetes in Dublin. But he then decided to return to Navan and not back to Northern Ireland. His court no-show became official on 1st December; [Jan 27] the three men who put up bonds for his bail are now somewhat out of pocket.

UPDATE 1 DECEMBER 2006: Babar Ahmad loses the penultimate, and maybe the ultimate, round.

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