The British Home Secretary has formally ordered the extradition of Shrien Dewani who faces murder charges in South Africa after his Swedish wife was killed on their honeymoon last year.
It is likely that Dewani’s lawyers will appeal the ruling over the next two weeks, despite pleas from Anni Hindocha’s family for the businessman to face the legal proceedings and give them “closure”.
The couple were honeymooning in Cape Town when their taxi was apparently hijacked by two armed men. The driver, Zola Tongo, and Dewani were released unharmed, but Hindocha was later found dead in the back seat of the vehicle. As part of a plea bargain, Tongo accused Dewani of paying him to hire the hit men.
The 31 year-old British Indian, who has since been living in a care home and receiving treatment for post traumatic stress disorder, strenuously denies the claims. His lawyers have continuously opposed the extradition order, claiming their client will not receive proper treatment while facing trial in South Africa. They now have 14 days to take their appeal to the High Court in London.
Anni’s uncle, Ashok Hindocha, welcomed the decision but pleaded with Dewani not to delay the process further. “We are extremely pleased that this case is going forward now, I just hope that we get closure as soon as possible,” he said in a report by The Telegraph. “I beg Shrien not to [lodge an appeal] for the sake of everybody’s health.”
Media mogul Max Clifford, who is acting as Dewani’s publicist, said, “I’ve been told from the family no comment at all, which is something that I disagree with, but they are following the advice of their lawyers. I personally am totally convinced that they basically have no chance of a fair trial if they go back to South Africa.”
Surely Anni Dewani? Anything else is prejudicial. Although I appreciate the fault was with the Telegraph’s reporting.