Successful challenge to extradition on human rights grounds

A Scottish bus driver facing extradition to Dubai to serve a sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment has successfully challenged a bid to remove him to the United Arab Emirates after he argued that his human rights would be breached.

Garnet Black, 64, fled the Middle East with his daughter to escape her abusive Emirati husband. He claimed that alleged financial offences, brought by his former son-in-law, were “totally false” and that he initiated these proceedings to put “pressure” on his former wife to return to the UAE with his child.

Counsel for the respondent Niall McCluskey argued that in the UAE the respondent would not have a right to a European Convention on Human Rights-compliant appeal because the UAE had no system of legal aid.  It was also argued that extradition would be “incompatible” with his human rights, namely those set out in article 3 and article 5 of the ECHR, and the sheriff agreed.

 

Image credit: Beth Cortez-Neaval, Flickr