header-logo header-logo

Interpol get the wrong man

03 July 2015
Issue: 7659 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-detail

A man wanted by Interpol has escaped extradition to Albania after establishing a case of mistaken identity.

Leke Prendi was convicted in his absence and sentenced to 21 years for ambushing and robbing a bus full of clerics returning from pilgrimage in Albania. One man was killed.

An Interpol red notice was issued in 2005, giving Prendi’s date of birth and height—168cm tall—and including a poor quality photograph. In 2007, Interpol issued an addendum with a copy of Prendi’s fingerprints, but without any accompanying statement on where the fingerprints came from.

A man thought to be Prendi was arrested in the UK after a fingerprints expert found a match. The suspect claimed his name was Aleks Kola. He gave a different date of birth from Prendi’s and was 179cm tall.

District Judge Coleman determined, on the balance of probabilities, that Kola was, in fact, Prendi. Although they were different heights, DJ Coleman said the man was “not unlike” the man in the photo, and noted the coincidence that Kola had the same surname as one of Prendi’s co-accused.

At appeal, in Leke Prendi aka Aleks Kola v Government of Albania [2015] EWHC 1809 (Admin), Kola’s lawyers argued that the red notice was not duly authenticated and the fingerprint evidence was third or remoter hearsay and therefore neither of these should have been admissible evidence. The circumstances in which Prendi’s fingerprints had been obtained remained unexplained, and the local prosecutor had twice stated that no photos or fingerprints of Prendi were available.

Lord Justice Aikens held that “whoever made up the red notice could not speak to the truth of any of the facts directly” since they all came from sources other than Interpol Tirana. Aleks Kola was free to go.

Edward Grange, partner at Corker Binning, a specialist in extradition, says: “In any case under Pt 2 of the Extradition Act 2003 where identity is disputed, it is important for practitioners to consider carefully the basis upon which the requesting state seeks to adduce evidence as to identity. Practitioners should apply English rules of evidence to challenge unauthenticated documents from the requesting state that seek to establish the requested person’s identity.”

 

Issue: 7659 / Categories: Legal News
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll