EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TO GARRY MANN’S UNJUST EXTRADITION FAILS

For Immedaite Release

The European Court of Human Rights has today refused to stop Garry Mann’s extradition to Portugal. Garry (a former fire fighter and father of five from Kent) will be forced to serve a 2 year prison sentence imposed after a grossly unfair trial in Portugal. Unless the UK Courts or Government step in at the final hour to prevent the extradition, Garry could be sent to Portugal as soon as tomorrow.

Jago Russell, Chief Executive of Fair Trials International, said:
“Garry Mann could be on a flight as soon as tomorrow, sent to serve two years in a Portuguese jail after what is widely recognised was a grossly unfair trial. It is a travesty of justice that the British courts, the Government and now the European Court of Human Rights appear happy to sit back and let this happen. ”

Garry’s trial in Portugal saw him arrested, tried and convicted in the space of 48 hours. A British police officer present at the trial described it as a “farce” and the UK courts have repeatedly recognised the serious injustice in his case. In March the High Court said that if Mann is extradited it will be an “embarrassment for everybody”. Despite this, the UK courts have said they are powerless to stop the extradition, the UK Government has failed to reach a diplomatic solution with Portugal and now the European Court has refused to stop the extradition. Garry still has several applications pending at the ECHR challenging his treatment in both British and Portuguese courts. In a few years the Court will get around to considering the substance of these applications, but by that time, he will have already been extradited and served two years in a Portuguese jail.

Fair Trials International and Garry’s legal team will continue fighting to prevent his extradition but the outlook is bleak.

For more information please contact Fair Trials International on +44 (0)20 7822 2370 or +44 (0)7950 849 851

Notes to Editors

1. Unfair Trial in Portugal
   · Garry Mann, a 52-year-old former fireman from Kent, attended the Euro 2004 football tournament in Portugal. While Garry Mann was spending the night with friends in a bar in Albufeira, a riot took place in a nearby street. Garry Mann was arrested on 15 June 2004. Garry was arrested, tried and convicted all in the space of 48 hours.
   
   · A British police officer at the trial has described the proceedings as a “farce”. Garry had only five minutes with his lawyer before the trial and did not know what he was charged with until after he was convicted. He was unable to understand the proceedings due to the poor quality of interpretation: the interpreter was a local hairdresser and a friend of the judge’s wife.
   
   · On 18 June 2004, Garry consented to his deportation to the UK after reportedly being told by the Portuguese authorities that the sentence would not be carried out if he agreed to voluntary deportation. New evidence from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms that they, too, shared this view. He was then escorted to the airport by the Portuguese authorities and sent back to the UK without having to serve any time in prison in Portugal.
    
2. British Courts Confirm Violation of Fair Trial Rights
   · Upon his return to the UK, the Chief of Metropolitan Police applied for a worldwide football banning order to prevent Garry from travelling abroad to attend football matches. On 3 August 2005, Justice Stephen Day refused to grant the order, concluding Garry’s trial could not be relied on as it was “so unfair as to be incompatible with the respondents’ right to a fair trial.”
    
3. Extradition request
   · On 6 October 2008, more than four years later, British police arrested Mann under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Portugal. His extradition was ordered by the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 August 2009. Garry’s former legal team missed the deadline for filing the appeal against extradition by a few hours, making it impossible for him to challenge the extradition decision. Garry has no right to appeal against his unsafe conviction in Portugal; if he is extradited he will be sent to prison to serve a 2 year sentence.
    
4. Previous Challenges in UK Courts
   · Garry’s new legal team has made a number of challenges to the extradition. Two of these were refused by the High Court on 19 January. Lord Justice Moses stated in his judgment that he could not “leave this application without remarking upon the inability of this court to rectify what appears to be a serious injustice to Mr Mann”. On 26 March 2010 the High Court refused to consider Garry’s final legal challenge in the UK courts. Lord Justice Moses considered that new evidence from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office "lends force to his belief that a serious injustice" had been committed against Mr Mann. He said “I cannot believe anybody wants this man to go and do 2 years in Albufeira Jail. It is just an embarrassment for everybody, this whole case, and it ought to disappear.” Again, the court requested that a diplomatic solution is sought: "If there was a case for mediation or grown up people getting their heads together then this is it."
    
5. European Court of Human Rights Refuses to Stop Extradition
   · Two emergency applications were to the European Court of Human Rights on 30 March 2010 requesting an injunction to prevent the extradition until the European Court had considered Garry’s treatment in the Portuguese and UK courts. These applications were today rejected by the European Court of Human Rights. Garry could be extradited to Portugal as soon as tomorrow.
    
6. Final Plea for Justice
   · After writing to the Foreign Secretary in January, Fair Trials International met with the Foreign Office to seek a diplomatic solution to Garry’s predicament. The Foreign Office subsequently wrote to the Portuguese authorities to bring Garry’s case to their attention. Despite a number of subsequent requests from Fair Trials International, the Portuguese Government has failed to respond to requests for them to assist in preventing Garry’s extradition.
   
   · During his final hours before Garry’s planned extradition, Fair Trials International is making a final plea to the British and Portuguese governments for them to prevent this injustice, and Garry’s legal team is filing a final legal challenge in the UK courts.