EXTRADITION FIGHT | 

Cartel chief Liam Byrne claims he will suffer ‘inhumane’ treatment in UK jails

The Crumlin-born criminal is fighting an extradition request by UK law officials,

Yesterday at 13:54

Kinahan mobster Liam Byrne says his extradition to the UK should be rejected because he risks “inhumane and degrading treatment” in a British prison.

The extraordinary claim is one of the key arguments his lawyer is using to persuade a Spanish court to refuse Britain’s request to hand him over.

Extradition expert Jaime Campaner is alleging there is a “real risk” Byrne’s fundamental right to physical and moral integrity will be in danger if his forced return goes ahead.

And he is also claiming the approval of the Irishman’s extradition would also violate his human rights because the only evidence against him are hacked messages on encrypted communications network Encrochat.

The arguments Spanish criminal lawyer Mr Campaner put forward to try to thwart Britain’s extradition request at Spain’s Audencia Nacional court last week emerged overnight.

Byrne, held on June 4 on a UK-issued international arrest warrant at a restaurant in the Majorcan town of Alcudia as he ate dinner with his children, watched the proceedings via videolink from the prison near Palma where he remains in custody.

His nephew Jack Kavanagh’s separate extradition appeal was also held last Tuesday.

Spanish prosecutors formally backed the extradition of both men, wanted on suspicion of firearms offences, during the hearings.

Kavanagh, arrested at Malaga Airport on May 30 while transiting from Dubai to Turkey, will remain at a prison on the Costa del Sol while he awaits the ruling on his future.

Today it emerged the decision is likely to be delayed because a formal request has been sent to the Irish authorities asking them if they wish to prosecute the two men.

The request is linked to a 2016 legal ruling on extradition requests made to EU countries by so-called ‘third countries’ outside the EU which now applies to Britain following Brexit.

Mr Campaner has cited the rampant overcrowding in some UK prisons as reasons why he believes Byrne’s wellbeing would be put at risk.

He has also flagged up the recent escape of terror suspect Daniel Khalife from Wandsworth Prison, which triggered a political storm about staff shortages and conditions at the jail as well as the four-day manhunt that led to his recapture on September 9.

The revelation Byrne’s lawyer is shining the spotlight on the UK prison system comes after it emerged a South African accused of the gun murder of two Dublin men said he fears he will be killed if he is extradited to Ireland to face charges.

Neville van der Westhuizen, 41, made the shock claims as he appeared at an extradition hearing last week.

He is accused of the murders of Eoin O’Connor, 32, and Anthony Keegan, 33, whose bodies were found wrapped in plastic sheeting and buried in a shallow grave on Inchicup Island in Lough Sheelin weeks after they went missing.

Mr Campaner has told the Audiencia Nacional it should refuse Britain’s extradition request if Ireland confirms it doesn’t want to extradite him.

And he is arguing that if the decision goes against Byrne, the UK should be made to say which prisons the alleged mobster will be held in both before and after any eventual conviction.

The 42-year-old was held after flying to Majorca for a family holiday from his hideout in Dubai.

He said he was opposing his forced return to Britain at an initial hearing less than 48 hours after his arrest, paving the way for last week’s appeal hearing.

Britain’s National Crime Agency revealed Jack Kavanagh – a son of Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavnanagh – had been held days earlier when it confirmed Liam Byrne, whose brother David was shot dead in the February 2016 Regency Hotel attack in Dublin, was in custody.

The NCA says both men were part of a plot spearheaded by Jack’s dad Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh to plant arms in the North and direct authorities to find them so he could get a reduced sentence on drug charges he was facing.

Jack’s father was a key figure in the Kinahan Cartel until his recent conviction for drugs and money-laundering offences resulted in him getting a 21-year jail sentence.

Byrne is said to have taken over from Bomber Kavanagh.

Thomas Kavanagh declined to enter a plea earlier this month when he appeared by video in the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey accused of conspiring to set up a discovery of arms and ammunition in a bid to get a reduced jail sentence.

Judge Alexia Duran remanded the case until 8 January for another management hearing.

A provisional trial date was for 2 September 2024. Jack Kavanagh’s appeal against the UK extradition request was initially due to go ahead on September 11 before it was suspended following a no-show by his lawyer.

Spanish state prosecutors had laid out their case for his extradition in a six-page document presented to the Audiencia Nacional before the suspended hearing.

It alleged he used the Encrochat encrypted communications network with the aliases ‘thilive’ until April 23 2020 and ‘basilbagner’ to participate in criminal activities.

Kay Mellor, Regional Head of Investigations at the NCA said in June after the arrests of Byrne and Jack Kavanagh: “This investigation is part of the NCA’s ongoing work targeting the Kinahan crime group.

“Liam Byrne and Jack Kavanagh have been evading justice for a number of years, but have now been arrested in relation to serious firearms offences.

“We have an excellent relationship with the Spanish National Police and will continue to work closely with our international partners to ensure those who think they can stay under the radar have no place to hide.”