Honeymoon murder suspect loses bid to delay extradition
Honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani has lost a British High Court bid to block his extradition to South Africa until he is fit to stand trial.
A panel of three judges, headed by Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, ruled that it would not be “unjust and oppressive” to extradite him if an undertaking was given by the South African government relating to how long he would be kept in the country without trial.
The court heard today that the government indicated it was willing to give that undertaking.
Dewani, from Bristol, has been fighting removal from the UK to face proceedings over wife Anni’s death until he has recovered from mental health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dewani, who is compulsorily detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act, is accused of ordering the killing of his new wife Anni, 28, who was shot as the couple travelled in a taxi on the outskirts of Cape Town in November 2010.
His lawyers have stressed at various hearings that he will be willing to defend himself at trial once he is fit to do so, but they say he is unfit to plead under English law and his “prognosis is not certain”.
