Court appearance for extradited Orpington businessman Christopher Tappin (From News Shopper)
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Court appearance for extradited Orpington businessman Christopher Tappin
8:09am Wednesday 29th February 2012 in Crime © Press Association
Court appearance for extradited Orpington businessman Christopher Tappin
ORPINGTON businessman Christopher Tappin has made his first appearance in court after being extradited to the US.
Tappin, of Farnborough Park, who lost his two-year battle against being sent to America last week, faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted over arms dealing charges.
Last night (February 28) he appeared for a five-minute preliminary hearing in the federal court in El Paso, Texas, and was remanded in custody to appear for a bail hearing on Friday.
Attorney General Dominic Grieve said his extradition had highlighted problems with the treaty between the UK and US, which are not "readily curable".
He warned that Britons were left uneasy when faced with the seemingly harsh and disproportionate sentences in the American justice system.
Mr Grieve admitted the UK's extradition laws were not ideal, but said: "In a world where we wish to see crime successfully combated, having a system by which to facilitate transfer to countries which meet the necessary criteria of fairness so as to curb crime is absolutely indispensable."
Mr Grieve was speaking as he gave evidence to MPs, minutes after Tappin's wife Elaine, 62, broke down in tears as she told them of her despair that nobody was prepared to listen to his defence before "carting him off".
Mrs Tappin told the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee's review of extradition arrangements that her family felt "incredulity, frustration, heartrending sadness, despair and utter disbelief" as they faced a "wholly uncertain future".
Mrs Tappin says she has still not been able to talk to her husband since he was extradited and he was being held in isolation, "locked up for 23 hours a day".
Tappin, the president of the Kent Golf Union, denies attempting to sell batteries for surface-to-air missiles which were to be shipped from the US to Tehran via the Netherlands.
Comments(6)
Slonik
says...
3:17pm Wed 29 Feb 12
cherished
says...
6:46am Thu 1 Mar 12
cherished
says...
10:24pm Thu 1 Mar 12
right-writes
says...
11:19am Fri 2 Mar 12
How can he be guilty any more than everyone else…? He hasn't been charged with anything.
Which was my point above… Because Blair ratified the new treaty with the US, the authorities in America only have to request extradition, they don't have to present a prima facie case, as do the British authorities when requesting the extradition of a US citizen.
Which is why I also drew attention to the European arrest warrant, which is similar. Andrew Symeou spent over a year rotting in a Greek prison without ever being charged or even making a court appearance… Then he was freed, having been financially broken along with his family.
John Anthony Jones
says...
2:37pm Tue 6 Mar 12
epetitions.direct.go
v.uk/petitions/30569
right-writes says...
10:26am Wed 29 Feb 12
The USA have yet to ratify this treaty but Tony Blair ratified it at the UK end.
Surely a treaty that is not ratified by both (or all parties), is not a treaty. So one wonders how it is that people like Mr. Tappin are being extradited under its terms.
Whatever…
Anyway, here is something even funnier (odder), we have something called the European Arrest Warrant, which deals with the same subject, but among the member states of the European Union.
So the UK government, which is supposed to represent the interests of its citizens, delivers to foreign governments, anyone that said foreign government "wants"…
Seems like we are being conned.
Meanwhile, as Mr. Tappin pointed out, there are foreign nationals walking the streets here, who are anti-British and desire to see its destabilisation, and nary a word spoken.