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12-08-2005 Scotsman We want extradition, say three Kriss suspects Diplomatic efforts deliver a breakthrough in Pakistan as men wanted for questioning over killing agree to return to Scotland By Gethin Chamberlain Chief News Correspondent and Chiade O'Shea in Islamabad THREE men who fled to Pakistan after the murder of Scottish teenager Kriss Donald yesterday agreed to be extradited to Britain to face trial. The men's decision not to fight extradition marks a major breakthrough in the case after months of diplomatic wrangling between the British and Pakistani governments. Strathclyde Police wanted to question the men - Zeeshan Shahid, Imran Shahid and Mohammad Faisal Mushtaq - about the brutal killing but had been unable to because of the absence of an extradition treaty between the two countries. But yesterday the men appeared before a court in Islamabad to face an extradition hearing after an agreement was struck between the two governments. They appeared 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. Arriving at court, shackled to his fellow accused, Zeeshan Zahid told The Scotsman: "We want to be extradited." They were then led into court for a hearing before a judge. Later, prosecutor Shaukat Ali Khan said the men had made clear their intention not to fight the process: "Without admitting their guilt, they want to contest their case in the UK." Sources who have spoken to them said they had indicated that they would prefer to face trial in the UK than spend more time in Rawalpindi prison, where conditions are hard compared to UK establishments. The men left Britain after the murder of the Glasgow teenager last year. The boy was abducted by a gang as he walked along Kenmure Street in Pollokshields on 15 March. His friend, Jamie Wallace, who escaped the kidnap attempt, said he heard the schoolboy pleading with his attackers as the car sped away. His last known words were: "Why me? I'm only 15." The gang is believed to have been looking to exact revenge for an attack on another person in a Glasgow night-club. After driving around in a stolen silver Mercedes looking for the attacker or someone known to him, they apparently settled on Kriss Donald at random. Following a journey of 200 miles, they returned to Glasgow and on the Clyde Walkway they subjected the boy to a savage attack, kicking and punching him, then stabbing him 13 times and eventually setting him on fire. He tried to put out the flames by rolling in mud but his partially clothed body was discovered on the morning after his abduction behind the Celtic Supporters' Club in London Road. In December one of the men involved, Daanish Zahid, 20, was jailed for a minimum of 17 years for the murder. A second man, Zahid Mohammed, 20, admitted racially aggravated assault and abducting the teenager but the Crown accepted his not-guilty plea to murder. He was jailed for five years. Warrants for the arrest of the three men who appeared in court yesterday were issued by Strathclyde Police last year but the inquiry was hindered by the absence of an extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan. The case was taken up by Mohammed Sarwar, the murdered boy's MP, who campaigned tirelessly for a one-off "no strings" deal to allow the extradition to go ahead. Last night he welcomed the latest development: "I think they will be in this country sooner rather than later," he told The Scotsman. "The accused have agreed to the extradition. I think the judge has to make a decision on when they will be deported." The MP said he was glad a deal had been struck. "It sends a loud and clear message that it is not acceptable to flee to another country after a crime has been committed," he said. British officials, including Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Douglas Alexander, the Foreign Office Minister, have also travelled to Pakistan to press the case for extra-dition. And Mr Sarwar raised the subject with Prime Minister Tony Blair. The three men were eventually arrested last month in Lahore and near Faisalabad in Punjab province. They will return to court in a matter of weeks after legal paperwork has been completed and rubber-stamped by Pakistan's Ministry of the Interior. The three, dressed in casual western clothes, were led out of court by a back entrance yesterday. The lack of progress in getting hold of suspects in the case has frustrated police, with the man leading the inquiry, Superintendent Elliot McKenzie, promising Kriss's mother that he would not retire until he had brought the men back to Scotland. Supt McKenzie said he felt a great deal of frustration that some of the prime suspects remained free, but he remained confident that a breakthrough would be achieved by the efforts of the diplomats and those involved in negotiations. Until Pakistan agreed to extend its 1972 Extradition Act to include the UK for this exceptional case, many feared the men would remain outside the reach of the UK law. But the London bomb attacks have led to closer co-operation between Britain and Pakistan and a deal on a bilateral extradition treaty is now under consideration in Islamabad and London. Sources in Pakistan say that work on the treaty accelerated after the London attacks and there is optimism that it may be in place to allow the extradition of anyone wanted in connected with the bombings. The Kriss Donald case had been raised during negotiations as an example of problems created by the lack of a bilateral treaty. Pakistan is also keen for a deal to be forged to allow the extradition of criminals who have sought refuge in Britain with the proceeds of their crimes. The killing was blamed for increasing racial tension in the Pollokshields area and prompted television presenter Carol Smillie to front a new anti-racism campaign earlier this year. Ms Smillie and her husband Alex Knight live close to the spot where Kriss was abducted and she said it had brought home to her the problems that remained in Scotland with racism. "Something as terrible as that really brings home the message that more needs to be done in Scotland to combat racism," she said at the time. Kriss's family have been devastated by the killing and after last year's court case his mother Angela, 41, said that they would be unable to get on with their lives on until all those involved were brought to justice. "Kriss meant everything to me, his sisters and his brother," she said. "We get little comfort from this result and we will not be able to move on until all those responsible are brought to justice." She and Kriss's sisters and brother later moved out of their flat in Pollokshields to get away from the scene of the fatal abduction. Last month the family gathered in the cemetery where Kriss is buried to mark what would have been his 17th birthday.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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