Dewani extradition ruling expected (From Romsey Advertiser)
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Dewani extradition ruling expected
3:02am Friday 30th March 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013
Shrien Dewani is accused of arranging the contract killing of wife Anni in Cape Town in November 2010
British businessman Shrien Dewani is set to find out if he has won his High Court appeal against an order that he can be extradited to South Africa to face allegations of masterminding the murder of his bride during their honeymoon.
Care home owner Dewani, from Bristol, who strenuously denies any wrongdoing, is accused of arranging the contract killing of wife Anni in Cape Town in November 2010.
Home Secretary Theresa May signed an order for his extradition after District Judge Howard Riddle ruled at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south east London last August that Dewani should be sent back to South Africa to stand trial.
But at a High Court hearing in December two judges heard that the health, and the life, of the businessman - who has been diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe depression - will be at risk if he is extradited.
Sir John Thomas, president of the Queen's Bench Division, and Mr Justice Ouseley, were urged to block the extradition order on the grounds that his mental health had deteriorated to the point where he was "too ill to be extradited" and was a suicide risk.
At the December hearing Clare Montgomery QC, for Dewani, also argued he was at serious risk of violence if kept in custody in South Africa, including sexual violence, at the hands of other prisoners.
Mrs Dewani, 28, from Sweden, was shot when a taxi the couple were travelling in was hijacked in the Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town. She was found dead in the back of the abandoned vehicle with a bullet wound to her neck after taxi driver Zola Tongo drove the newlyweds to the impoverished area.
He and Mr Dewani were ejected by the hijackers before Mrs Dewani was driven away and shot.
Tongo, who has admitted his part in the crime, claimed in a plea agreement with prosecutors that Dewani ordered the carjacking and paid for a hit on his wife.
The Dewani family's lawyer, Charlotte Harris, of Mishcon de Reya, said in a statement: "Shrien is innocent and has always maintained his commitment to clearing his name of all the false allegations and slurs against him. He remains determined to fight for justice for his wife, Anni."
