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A German court has refused to extradite a UK man accused of drug trafficking over concerns about the state of Britain’s prison system.
The case centres around an Albanian man who lived in the UK and stands accused of trafficking approximately 5kg of cocaine and laundering around £330,000.
In response to an international arrest warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates Court the man, who had travelled to Germany when his fiancée fell ill, was detained by authorities for potential extradition.
In a ruling made earlier this year, the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court in south-west Germany decided the extradition was “currently inadmissible” in view of the “state of the British prison system.”
This latest rebuke comes amid an escalating political row following the escape of former British solider Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old is accused of trying to spy for an enemy state, understood to be Iran, and plotting a fake bomb hoax at a military base.
His escape has provoked furious public debate, with ministers slammed over cuts and staff shortages amid claims that potentially dangerous inmates have been left in low-security prisons.
Khalife’s escape, in particular the equipment he used to secure himself to the underside of a lorry without detection, has raised serious concerns surrounding the safety and security of British prisons.
The man’s defence lawyer, Jan-Carl Jansen had previously written a thesis while studying at Glasgow University that examined UK prison conditions.
Appearing in court, Jansen cited his findings of overcrowding, staggering shortages and violence among inmates.
The court sought guarantees from the UK about the state of prison conditions should the prisoner be extradited.
It added the UK must comply with minimum standards in accordance with the European convention on human rights was required, and asked authorities to indicate which prison the Albanian man would be detained in.
Thousands of front-line prison officers have been cut since the Tories took power in 2010, figures published in 2019 show.
The number of band 3-5 staff stood at 22,321 at the end of June 2019, well below the nearly 25,000 front-line officers who worked in prisons back in 2010.
Data published by the Ministry of Justice in May last year revealed the prison service was struggling to retain new prison officers, raising questions over the safety of correctional facilities.
In the year ending 31 March 2021, there was a leaving rate of 14.5% among band 3-5 officers, an increase of 5.4%.
In response to the court’s request, a Manchester police station stated that measures were in place to address overcrowding, including the creation of 20,000 extra prison spaces.
Writing in the Law Society Gazette on Monday, solicitor Jonathan Goldsmith, described the situation as an “embarrassment for the UK”.
He added: “There have been similar court decisions before under the European arrest warrant framework, but in relation to member states whose records on prisons and human rights the UK would not wish to compare itself with.”
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