Skip to main content

Proceeding contribution from Dominic Raab (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Monday, 5 December 2011. It occurred during Backbench debate on UK Extradition Arrangements.


UK Extradition Arrangements

I thank the hon. Lady for shedding light on some of the legal advice on that. In my view, the regime in place under the European arrest warrant suffers from far more serious and widespread flaws than the UK-US arrangements, despite the important concerns that have been raised in that regard. If we consider the appalling treatment of Andrew Symeou, we will see the egregious nature of the flaws in the system. Greek police beat identical statements out of witnesses, which were later retracted, and Andrew spent practically a year in appalling prison conditions. He was left with a flea-ridden blanket in a baking-hot cell crawling with cockroaches and was abused by guards. He witnessed a prisoner being beaten to death for drug money. The trial proceeded at a crawl, with translators who spoke little English. Eventually he was cleared after a two-year ordeal.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
537 c85 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Administration of justice Arrest warrants Extradition Human rights USA
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk