CHEF PROTESTS AGAINST EXTRADITION FROM BRITAIN TO ITALY

THE TELEGRAPH

A father of three facing extradition from Britain over a murder committed in Italy when he claims he was not in the country has appealed to legal authorities to ''end this horror and allow me to carry on my life in peace''.

Edmond Arapi, a chef from Leek, Staffordshire, was convicted by an Italian court in his absence in 2006 and sentenced to 16 years in jail for the murder of Castillo Marcello, who was stabbed to death in Genoa in October 2004.

Fair Trials International, which is supporting Mr Arapi's fight against extradition, said the 29-year-old Albanian did not leave the UK between 2000-2006 and was working at a Staffordshire café on the day of the killing.

Chief executive Jago Russell said: ''The ordeal the Arapi family are going through has to be anyone's worst nightmare.

''Edmond had no idea he was being tried for murder in Italy and had no chance to prove that he wasn't even in Italy when the crime was committed. If extradited, Edmond will leave behind a wife, a newborn baby and his two young daughters and could spend years in a foreign jail.''