EU 134: Letter to the Chair from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs - Dr Ejup Ganic

Thank you for your letter of 15 March 2010, expressing concerns about the arrest and detention in London of Dr Ejup Ganic. You requested clarification on three separate points.

First, you enquired about the basis on which Dr Ganic was detained. As you note, Dr Ganic was arrested on 1 March at Heathrow Airport, following a request from Serbia for his provisional arrest with a view to extradition.

The case is being dealt with entirely in accordance with the provisions of the Extradition Act 2003. Serbia is an extradition partner to the UK; we are both signatories to the European Convention on Extradition, and Serbia is designated under Part 2 of the 2003 Act. Under that Act, the full papers in support of the extradition request must be received by the Court within 45 days. The Court calculated that in this case the papers must be received by 14 April. The court will then fix a date for the extradition hearing, at which the judge will consider whether any of the bars to extradition in the 2003 Act apply in this case. For example, extradition is barred if the Court decides that it would be incompatible with a person's human rights; or if it appears to the Court that the request for extradition has been made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of his race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or political opinions.

The correct legal processes and procedures have been followed throughout in this case. And as the matter is now before the Courts, I am sure you will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment further.

Second, you asked me to clarify the situation in relation to Dr Ganic's detention and subsequent release on bail. I can confirm that Dr Ganic appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on the day of his arrest (1 March), and arrived at Wandsworth Prison later that day. During the period of time that Dr Ganic spent in Wandsworth Prison, he received prison visits. On 11 March, Dr Ganic was released from prison on bail.

Finally, you asked me to set out the implications of the arrest for the risk of deterioration of relations both between the United Kingdom and Bosnia and Herzegovina and within the Western Balkans. On this issue I, Chris Bryant and our Ambassador in Sarajevo, have given the clear and consistent message that the arrest of Dr Ganic in no way amounts to a political or diplomatic statement by the British Government, or any point of view by the British Government on past events in the Western Balkans: it is a purely judicial matter. I have also underlined the strength of the UK's bilateral relationship with BiH, the importance the Government attaches to this, and the UK's strong support for the country's European perspective.

I discussed many of these issues with the Chair of the BiH Presidency, Dr Haris Silajdzic, when he visited London on 11 March. I also encouraged Dr Silajdzic to work with other Bosnian political leaders to sustain the recent positive momentum in the BiH / Serbia bilateral relationship, recognising that this will be an important contribution to regional stability and progress.

31 March 2010

David Miliband MP