Garry Mann, a former fireman, was extradited to serve a 2 year prison sentence imposed following a trial in Portugal in 2004, described by a UK court as “so unfair as to be incompatible with [his] right to a fair trial”.
Garry was arrested in Portugal in 2004 where he was attending the Euro 2004 football tournament. Garry was tried and convicted in the space of 48 hours for involvement in a riot. A British police officer present at the trial described it as a “farce”. Garry had no time to prepare a defence and standards of interpretation were grossly inadequate. The UK courts have repeatedly recognised the serious injustice in his case but said they were powerless to stop Garry’s extradition after his arrest under a European Arrest Warrant, despite a senior UK judge describing the case as an “embarrassment.”
Garry was transferred to a UK prison on the 19th May 2011, and was eventually released from custody in August 2011.
