FATHER OF THREE WALKS FREE AFTER ITALIANS GET WRONG MAN

Edmond Arapi with his youngest child

THE DAILY MAIL

The Italian authorities have abandoned a bid to extradite a Staffordshire father of three for murder after admitting they had 'got the wrong man'.

Edmond Arapi, who lives in Leek, 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. Today, Mr Arapi went to the High Court in London to fight against extradition. The 29-year-old Albanian chef knew nothing about the trial and said he had an alibi.

Mr Arapi, jubilant after the judge discharged the case and still wearing an electronic tag, said: 'I have been ringing my family to tell them the news. I am so happy now but this has been a nightmare for me that words cannot describe. Tonight I shall be celebrating and then I shall get back to being a chef or something, but I want to move on in my life.'

Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said: 'We are thrilled that Edmond Arapi can now wake up from the nightmare of the last year. 'His case is clear evidence that countries requesting extradition sometimes get it wrong. Italian and British authorities have taken a common sense approach to this case.

'We hope European countries will now work together to reform the EU's fast-track extradition system to prevent similar cases of injustice in future.'