Times: England fan extradited for two years’ jail in Portugal
May 13 2010An England football fan sentenced by a Portuguese court to two years’ jail for hooliganism during the Euro 2004 tournament was extradited yesterday.
Garry Mann, 52, of Faversham, Kent, surrendered to Portuguese police at Heathrow. He said that he had tried unsuccessfully to get the new British Government to intervene.
His member of parliament, Tory Hugh Robertson, had failed, he said, to get through to anyone at the Foreign Office who could help.
Mr Mann, held under the new European arrest warrant and who says his trial was unfair, said: “What I would like to do is finally say that the Labour Government and Crown Prosecution Service have betrayed me.
“It is time for this new Government to support its own British citizens when there is an obvious injustice taking place.
“It is time for them to do something about the European arrest warrant and for the British people to realise what the European arrest warrant is about.
“What started off as for terrorists can now be used for anyone on holiday and English supporters abroad and something needs to be done about it.”
Mr Mann’s lawyers failed to secure a judicial review at the High Court last week.
Jago Russell, of Fair Trials International, said Mr Mann’s trial was a “travesty of justice” and pledged to continue to campaign against the warrant.
The European Court of Human Rights last month rejected his application to halt extradition while he mounts a legal challenge in that court.