Court says extradition of Brit ‘lawful’
A top EU court said on Thursday that last year’s extradition of a mentally ill British man accused of setting up a militant training camp in the United States was lawful.
The European Court of Human Rights has thus rejected a complaint by the suspect, the 40-year-old Haroon Aswat from West Yorkshire, against his extradition to the US this past October.
Aswat, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, argued that the decision by the British Government rested on inadequate assurances from US officials about his treatment, and therefore breached Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
However, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR ) announced on Thursday that it was satisfied he was receiving "appropriate treatment" in the US.
“In light of the specific assurances and additional information received from the United States government, and the careful examination of the case by the High Court in the United Kingdom, the court found that it could not be said that there was a real risk that Mr Aswat would be subjected to treatment contrary to Article 3 if extradited,” the ECHR said in a statement.
“The Court therefore considered his complaint to be manifestly ill-founded pursuant to Article 35 of the Convention and declared the application inadmissible.”
Aswat’s extradition was blocked in April 2013 by ECHR judges who ruled that he could face inhumane treatment as there were no guarantees over where he would be detained.
Home Secretary Theresa May was told to put extradition plans on hold after High Court judges heard that Aswat suffered from serious mental illness.
But in September judges at the same court said they were satisfied with assurances given by American officials that he would be cared for and he was sent to the US.
Aswat was arrested in 2005 in Zambia, extradited to Britain and moved to a psychiatric hospital in 2008 until being sent to the US.
He is accused of setting up a training camp in Bly, Oregon in the United States between June 2000 and December 2001 for people wanting to go to fight in Afghanistan.
Aswat pleaded not guilty to four counts of conspiracy and providing material support to Al-Qaeda in a New York court in October. His trial is due to begin in June and he faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted.
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