British Court claims arrested Mongolian official was not lured and nor invited

Court: No plot to lure spy chief

A Mongolian spy chief was not the victim of a Machiavellian plot to lure him to the UK to be arrested at Heathrow Airport and extradited, a court has heard.

There is no evidence of the Government and judicial authorities "cooking up" a plan to have Bat Khurts visit the UK in order to secure his arrest, City of Westminster Magistrates' Court was told.

The 41-year-old head of the executive office of Mongolia's national security council, was arrested in September on his arrival in the UK as the result of a European Arrest Warrant dating back to 2003.

Aaron Watkins, acting for the German authorities, who are seeking Mr Khurts' extradition, said: "There is no evidence of the judicial authority cooking up a plan with the Government. This warrant was issued some time ago and has been live, pending execution in every single jurisdiction where it sits for many years. All of that is entirely inconsistent with some Machiavellian conspiracy to procure Bat Khurts' surrender and ultimate extradition."

The 41-year-old Mongolian civil servant was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport and is fighting extradition to Germany over claims he was involved in the kidnap, false imprisonment and return of a Mongolian national suspected of murdering a government official.

Lawyers for Khurts claim the Government enticed him to the UK knowing that there was a warrant for his arrest of which he was unaware.

They have said the spy chief was told he was coming to the UK for high-level Government talks on a new era of intelligence co-operation relating to Muslim fundamentalism. Mr Watkins said Khurts was not high-ranking enough to qualify for diplomatic immunity as a civil servant who was not a former minister or head of state.

He indicated that correspondence showed that "no invitation was issued, no meetings arranged, no subjects for business were agreed or prepared". Mr Watkins has also denied any "improper" conduct by the German judicial authorities in relation to Khurts.

Alun Jones QC, for Mr Khurts, has said as a senior civil servant representing his government, he was therefore covered under the Special Missions Convention which would grant him immunity from detention and arrest.

It is alleged that Khurts was involved in the kidnap of Enkhbat Damiran, from France, driving him to Berlin, drugging him and flying him back to Mongolia. An application for bail was refused by the court. Judgment on extradition was reserved to February 18.

Source: Press Association of UK