Extradition of Kriss Donald murder suspects stalled by demands for

THE deal to secure the extradition of three men wanted in connection with the brutal murder of Glasgow teenager Kriss Donald was delayed for months because Pakistan demanded that Britain hand over fugitives in return.

Sources close to the negotiations have revealed that the painstaking process to bring the suspects back to the UK was almost scuppered due to the refusal of Tony Blair's government to agree to a reciprocal arrangement.

It is understood that the Pakistani government supplied the British authorities with a secret list of criminals wanted by the Islamic country for crimes committed there, but who were now living in the UK. At least one, according to the source, is wanted for fraud.

The high-level diplomatic talks to secure a one-off "no strings" deal stalled for months because of the demands and at one point, said the source, the Home Office in London did not believe the three men would ever be returned to the UK.

However, after more than a year of diplomatic wrangling - including high-profile interventions by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Douglas Alexander, the Foreign Office minister - Pakistan relented in June, leading to the arrest of the three men in Lahore and near Faisalabad last month.

Two weeks ago, Strathclyde Police finally revealed that the three suspects, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had agreed to be extradited to Britain to face trial. They are due to be brought to the UK under police guard around the end of next month.

The source said: "When Douglas Alexander went to Pakistan in January to raise the issue with the prime minister, nothing happened because they were looking for a reciprocal arrangement. They were after some people who had committed fraud and some others. But we made it clear we didn't want any of this.

"If we had agreed to make a deal with Pakistan then arranging the extradition [of the suspects] would have taken years. It would have been a disaster."

Another well-placed source added: "That was the one challenge for us. We expected that if we said, 'give us these three', they would demand some people from us.

"All we could do was just dogmatically say, 'No, we're asking for a one-off extradition with no strings attached.' We just stuck to that."

The three men left Britain after the Scottish teenager's murder in Glasgow last year.

Donald, who was 15, was last seen walking along Kenmure Street in the city's Pollokshields area on March 15.

His partially clothed body was discovered the following morning behind the Celtic Supporters' Club on London Road, in the east end of Glasgow.

Strathclyde Police set up an intelligence cell as part of its investigation and last year traced three suspects to Pakistan.

Warrants for the arrest of the men were issued by police after they were located but the deal to have them returned to the UK stalled.

Senior police officers said they feared that the suspects would flee from Pakistan if it was discovered that they were being monitored by police.

A fortnight ago, the three men appeared before a court in Islamabad to face an extradition hearing. They were flanked by armed police from Pakistan's elite anti-terrorism unit and were restrained with chains.

The trio are understood to have decided to take their chances in the UK rather than spend any more time in a Pakistani prison.

Mohammad Sarwar, the murdered boy's MP, who campaigned tirelessly for a one-off extradition, confirmed that the process had stalled because of Pakistan's demands.

He said: "The case was delayed because the Pakistan government was at first demanding that there had to be some reciprocal arrangement. They were saying that you can't have one government handing over people when the other doesn't.

"I told them that this was very, very important for the Pakistani community here and for race relations in Scotland. I travelled to Pakistan a number of times to press the case personally with the president, the prime minister and the interior minister, and they were kind enough to agree to this."

Although there is no extradition treaty between the two countries, it is believed that the negotiations over the case will have a positive impact on existing negotiations between Islamabad and London to thrash out a new bilateral agreement.

Such an arrangement has taken on a new significance since the London bombings last month.

Last night, the Foreign Office refused to comment on the secret deal to bring the suspects to the UK.

Detective Superintendent Elliot McKenzie, who led the murder investigation, said:

"We have nothing but admiration for the way the Pakistani authorities went about their job. Without the co-operation from Pakistan, reaching this stage would have been impossible."

liam. mcdougall@sundayherald. com

Copyright 2005 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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