Mongolian spy chief faces extradition on kidnap charge

By Cathy Gordon

A Mongolian spy chief has lost an appeal against a ruling that he can be extradited from the UK to Germany to face charges of kidnap and false imprisonment.

Bat Khurts, who claims he was lured to the UK so he could be arrested under a European Arrest Warrant, had his case rejected by judges at the High Court in London yesterday.

He is alleged to have been involved in the abduction from Germany of the Mongolian national Enkhbat Damiran, who was wanted in connection with the murder of a government official.

Khurts was arrested when his flight landed at Heathrow last September. In February, District Judge Quentin Purdy, sitting at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, said 41-year-old Khurts should be sent to Germany on a European Arrest Warrant.

His legal team urged Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Foskett to overturn the decision, arguing that, as head of the executive office of Mongolia's National Security Council, Khurts should have been covered by diplomatic immunity and should not have been detained when he arrived in Britain. But the judges dismissed his case. The court heard that there would be no appeal against the decision.


Source:www.independent.co.uk