He believed he was being contracted to supply batteries to a Dutch car company, AFAIAA, so since when has a battery been synonimous with a weapon? It could be a component part, obviously, but then so can many, many other innocuous components.

Wikipedia provides a bit more detail – though of course there’s not much more reason to trust th e article, than there is to trust your writing. 🙂

Apparently the batteries are specific to Hawk missiles, supplied to the Iranians in the 80’s.

Well put CountZero

It’s like this with a lot of cases you hear about. Seems once someone is arrested they are automatically guilty. Which really is a worrying trend, like a lynch mob mentality but without the pitchforks and flaming torches.

Quite depressing reading some of the comments above. To think we share the trails with people who are that close minded 😐

The arms dealer he was talking about CountZero was the Russian one mentioned earlier in the thread, the one in the New York slammer

I wouldn’t want to face a US jury. The media out there will no doubt have pictured him as osama’s main man and what’s a good ol patriotic boy to do but send his Commie ass to prison.

It could be a component part

It was apparently a component part. A component of a weapon sold illegally to Iran by the US government in defiance of its own arms embargo……during the Iraq-Iran War the US government was selling weapons to both sides so that they could kill each other more effectively. Hawk Missiles to the Iranians and chemical weapons to the Iraqis, for example.

Of course the US government made sure that those who were responsible for the illegal Iran-Contra scandal were never punished. Oliver North received a 3 year suspended sentence which was later overturned when he successfully appealed for his “rights” under the 5th Amended. He certainly never received solitary confinement.

Ronald Reagan got away with it scot free ….. because he “didn’t know” what the US government was doing !

And despite being found guilty by the International Court of Justice the US never paid the compensation they were ordered to pay Nicaragua, because as a permanent member of the Security Council they blocked any enforcement of the ruling.

25 years later Oliver North is seen by many as a national hero, whilst the US government pursues an obscure old man in the UK which they have allegedly entrapped and who faces the possibility of 35 years imprisonment.

There’s not a whole lot of “justice” in this story.

Seems once someone is arrested they are automatically guilty. Which really is a worrying trend, like a lynch mob mentality but without the pitchforks and flaming torches.

Quite depressing reading some of the comments above. To think we share the trails with people who are that close minded

Oh the irony…

Looking back, I only see one poster possibly prejudging guilt.

Looking back, I only see one poster possibly prejudging guilt.

Your right, well done.

I was trying to make two separate points, hence the gap in the text. Will try harder to differentiate more clearly in future.

Not sure why it’s an ironic statement though, guess you just like the word 😉

If the FBI set up a shell company to entice people to sell items believing it to be legit, but the company is set up to entrap people then I believe that is a defence in the States. Innocent until proven guilty

A defence the UK courts found unsustainable in his recent appeal, nor did they find the prospect of extradition “oppresive”. I don’t know whether he’s guilty, the original question was about the extradition treaty, as has been said he seems to have taken his case to the courts in this country and it’s been rejected.
AFAIK the level of suspicion / proof for this treaty is no different to extradition under an EAW (judicial desicion to seek arrest) which goes on without a murmur of dissent

Extradited Briton Chris Tappin denied bail in US

“He wore an orange jumpsuit and had his feet and one hand shackled – the other was left free so that he could use a cane.”

No one wants a prisoner to flee, but it really is time that the United States joined other civilised nations into the 21st century.

This geezer is still innocent until the point when, or if, it is proven otherwise.

Shame on the British government for not demanding that a British citizen be treated in a more humane way.

I have no doubt that they would have had something to say if an old man with a walking stick and British nationality had been hauled before an Iranian court in shackles.

+1 ^^^^