Dewani extradition given go-ahead by Home Secretary

Shrien Dewani, accused of conspiring to kill his wife Anni Hindocha while on their honeymoon in South Africa last year, has been cleared for extradition by Home Secretary Theresa May.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Mr Dewani now has the opportunity, within 14 days, to appeal to the High Court against the decision of the district judge and/or the home secretary.”

Businessman Dewani, 31, denies hiring kidnappers to kill his wife Anni in a fake car-jacking.

The couple were on honeymoon in South Africa last November when the car they were being driven in was hijacked in the township of Gugletutu.
Mr Dewani and the driver Zolo Tongo escaped but Miss Hindocha was kidnapped and later found shot dead.

Mr Tongo admitted his part in the crime, in return for a reduced sentence, and claimed that Mr Dewani had ordered the car-jacking and paid for his wife to be killed.

Extradition fight

Mr Dewani is currently being held in a medium-secure psychiatric unit near Bristol. He is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and depression.

He has fought extradition proceedings, arguing that he is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and is too unwell to be sent abroad for trial.

And his lawyer, Clare Montgomery QC, further argued the danger of South African prisons and an alleged abuse of process by the South African authorities, claiming her client would not get a fair trial because of comments they have already made to the media.

Experts from South Africa had described South African prisons as overcrowded, with prisoners often sharing single cells, lying on mattresses on the floor because there were not enough beds, of having no implements to eat their food with and of receiving inadequate or no medical treatment.

However, in August a judge approved the extradition and the decision has now been upheld by the Home Secretary.