Teresa Daniels - Spain

Last updated: 21 July 2011

Young woman extradited to serve sentence for a closed Spanish case despite no evidence

On return to Tenerife in June 1997 where Teresa Daniels was living, 3.8 kilos of cocaine were discovered in a suitcase belonging to her travel companion. Despite protests from the companion that the drugs had nothing to do with Teresa, she was detained. Teresa was granted bail but could not leave Tenerife and soon after suffered a near-fatal brain haemorrhage. During her 90 minutes un-translated trial in March 1998, Teresa was sentenced to 10 years in prison despite the fact that no drugs were found in her possession. Whilst Teresa’s lawyer appealed, she was released on ‘conditional liberty’ in Tenerife.

In February 2000, the Spanish Ambassador to London wrote to Teresa confirming her case had been closed, but when applying for a job back in Britain she discovered that the conviction still stood. In June 2003, police officers entered the family home with an international arrest warrant for Teresa and she was extradited to Spain on 20 October 2005 to serve her sentence. In May 2007 Teresa was transferred on medical grounds to complete her sentence in Britain. On 17 December 2008, Teresa was granted a royal pardon which reduced her sentence to six years, leading to her release from prison on 29 January 2009. Teresa is now training as a counsellor but is constrained because her criminal record still stands.