Thursday, May 19, 2011

DEWANI: Extradition hearing to continue in mid July...Courts close for summer break so this could roll on into September .


http://ht.ly/1cwelT
Shrien Dewani’s extradition hearing is on hold until mid-July.

Three days in court, with evidence from three witnesses, drew to a close as both legal sides now await the compilation of a psychiatric report into Dewani’s mental health.

The evidence heard so far relates almost exclusively to conditions within South African prisons. The 31-year-old British businessman’s defence team argued that he will receive inhumane treatment from both warders and inmates and that it will be against his human rights to extradite him.

A series of threats posted online to various social networking sites, some claiming to come from detainees, threaten sexual violence towards Dewani in jail.

Prosecutors acting for the South African government have been trying to play down problems of overcrowding, violence and the spread of HIV among inmates, suggesting Dewani is more likely to be held in a single cell in a modern jail if found guilty.

They also said he will be carefully monitored.