FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In the Royal Court of Justice, hall number 1 has begun another legal battle to block the Albanian state's request to extradite from Great Britain those wanted on suspicion of being involved in the murder of Ardian Nikulaj on April 19, 2023.
Judge Mr. Justice Swift, after hearing the parties, will decide whether the August 2023 extradition decision should be appealed or not.
Edmond Haxhi's lawyers, Thomas Mithan, Harriet Bridgeman and Harry Simpson, and the representative of the Albanian state, have been given three days to express their positions.
Top Channel journalist Muhamed Veliu, who is following this process, reports that Edmond Haxhia is following this process via videolink from Wandsworth Prison where he has been held in custody since April 29, 2023.
The Lezha prosecution has charged him with organizing the murder and premeditated murder, while the three British men who served as a surveillance group are charged with premeditated murder in collaboration.
This process at the Royal Court of Justice was preceded by two articles in The Telegraph and Mail Online, which highlighted a serious error by former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
“Home Office mistake halts extradition of 'killing squad' to Albania. Glitch means suspected team of assassins could challenge deportation for killing businessman,” is the headline of the article in the Daily Telegraph.
While Mail Online has the headline: "Interior Ministry gaffe risks extradition of three British "hitmen" wanted in Albania for the shooting death of a man."
As Top Channel exclusively reported two weeks ago, Home Affairs Secretary Yvette Cooper signed the extradition orders with the old charges where Edmond Haxhia was accused of murder due to blood feud.
But these charges were changed by the Lezha prosecution and went to the British court "City of Westminster Magistrate Court", which in August 2024 accepted the Albanian state's request to extradite them.
Top Channel learns that in the Royal Court of Justice before Judge Mr. Justice Swift, the defense will use this mistake to block extradition.
It remains to be seen how much weight Judge Mr Justice Swift will give to this error, corrected with another new guarantee sent by the Ministry of Justice in Tirana as requested by the Home Office.
This new guarantee has been put before the judge as the only way to correct the Home Office's mistake.
After extradition from Morocco, only Ruben Saraiva is in the dock for this murder in the Lezha court, who is accused of being the executioner of Ardian Nikulaj.
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