Loudoun Castle April 5th 09

Reporters and News media can call 01506 491 878 or Email brian@howes.uk.net

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This is to explain as best I can why it is wrong to extradite a person from the UK to the US without ever showing evidence.

There are many reasons not to Extradite to the US when a person can be charged in the UK and be protected by UK Law and UK courts.

Some facts on Extradition to the US:

Brian Howes Family

First of the many problems I have researched for a long time now is: Guilt is built in to the Extradition Act now the UK /US Treaty.

I must explain this in more detail as people will not understand it: when an Arrest Warrant arrives from the US in the UK with an indictment the person or persons are arrested and put in front of a Sheriff in Scotland or a Magistrate in England.

The person or persons arrested are not charged or questioned in any way but put in front of judge and referred to as Fugitives even if you have never been to the US.

Most people arrested on this warrant from the US are transported to court the day after arrest without any legal representation and given only minutes with a duty solicitor who almost always has no experience in Extradition.

In our case our kids went to stay with their Gran which later had a breakdown but we at the time of our arrest has 4 young girls our youngest being only 11 Months old and our oldest aged Eight.

lOUDOUN CASTEL APRIL 4TH DENNI BETH ON LOG FLUME

Well back to court, after 27 hours in separate cells we were taken to Edinburgh Sheriffs court without a phone call or legal advice.

Under the Edinburgh Court before going in front of a Sheriff McColl I had five Minutes with a duty solicitor who said I could agree to go to the US and they would let my wife go, the problem with this while two DEA agents looked over the shoulder of my duty Solicitor (Lawyer) was that we had not broken any laws and I fully expected to be going home so I rejected the offer as I had no idea of what was going to happen.

Ellie Howes on Swing at Loudoun Castle Scotland

Well after about five minutes I was taken Handcuffed up the stairs to the court and as I was going up my Wife now, as we were not married at the time was coming down the stairs escorted by prison officers crying and sobbing her heart out saying she had been remanded.

I was shocked more than you can imagine as e have no criminal records and had a reputable business.

Moments later I was taken through the court door and it came to no surprise that I was going to be remanded as my wife had just been put in jail by the same Sheriff.

The PF David Dickson said to the Sheriff that I had to be remanded as I was a flight risk due to large amounts of drug money, the problem with this is that the Business only had taken credit cards and we only had £6,000 in the Business account and the prosecutor PF David Dickson failed to mention the bank account was frozen the day before on January 30th 2007 the day of our arrest and the lives of our children and ours being ruined.

PF David Dickson 2nd reason for remand was “increased chance of sales” this argument was flawed also as the day before the Police and US DEA has taken over our business premises so we had no access to the Legal chemicals that were stolen, 30 Tons of chemicals and equipment were taken from what they now agree was a legitimate business.

But the Sheriff even added her own assertions that the chemical now being referred to as Drugs would be at risk of being sold on. Either the PF David Dickson was misinformed or he lied to get us remanded.

We were then taken away not knowing what was going on and put in different prisons: I was put in Edinburgh prison and my wife was put in Stirling prison in Scotland.

An Extradition hearing was made for mid March for our speedy extradition.

My solicitor Mr Wilson from Wilson McLeod in Edinburgh had no idea about extradition and I had no money to get a solicitor that had any experience of extradition.

He visited me telling me that I had to agree to go to the US but it made no sense as they did not offer anything in return like my wife’s freedom at first. ( This solicitor was questionably not working for me )

lOUDOUN CASTLE BETH FRONT DENNI REAR ON THE MAD MOUSE

Our children four of them were living a long way away with their Gran and because of her mental condition and being an alcoholic my wife got to see the kids for one hour most Sundays.

I got one visit at the very beginning and then I had to give up visits in order for my wife to get hers as my wife was really suffering in a prison environment without committing any crime.

I got to speak to the kids on the phone a couple of times a week as it costs money to make calls from prison and we had very little and what we had was from my 82 year old mother.

I can’t put into words what it is like being away from your children and your partner and Soul mate but I would rather die than live with this again.

Here is a video of my STV interview from prison.

done

Leaving Remand after a 30 day hunger strike and being in hospital 4 & Half  Stone slimmer.

done

On the day of the full Extradition hearing I was represented by Maggie Hughes junior advocate and John Mcleod solicitor, My Wife had Fairbairn’s of Edinburgh and Robert Fairburn solicitor and Lenahan the Junior Advocate.

Kerry and I after many trips to court before this were terrified as we knew the case was not ready as it was said to us to be the most complex case in Extradition ever in the UK. We never even got to speak to each other under the Edinburgh court on the way up to court or even get a cuddle.

In April 2007 we found ourselves in court always handcuffed and not allowed to speak or comfort each other and it was Sheriff Mciver who had taken the Extradition on and at the beginning of the hearing he was happy to tell the media and the US DEA agents in court that he was the head Sheriff in Extradition in Scotland and intended to go ahead with the Extradition even if we were not ready.

My solicitor asked for time to see his client me before proceedings began and the Sheriff allowed 10 Minutes.

Maggie Hughes and John Mcleod told me below the court in the Edinburgh Dungeons that they had not got the case ready and they intended to walk out if the Sheriff insisted on carrying on our Extradition not ready. I was also told the Sheriff could send us to the US as we would have no representation.

I was taken back up to court to see my wife shaking in fear as the media watched with the US DEA agents.

Lenahan my wife’s junior advocate was the first to get up and tell the Sheriff that he had been fired by my wife for not being ready or even experienced in Extradition, He told the Sheriff he needed to leave as he had been fired and Sheriff Mciver asked him to leave, this left my wife with a solicitor Robert Fairbairn with no experience of Extradition and the legal aid board had refused my wife a change of solicitor before the hearing.

What happened next was Maggie Hughes junior advocate told the sheriff she needed 3 months more time to prepare this very complicated case were the Lord advocates office had not given any co-operation to prepare.

Sheriff Mciver refused the Extra time and Maggie Hughes said she would have to leave the case as she believed the case was not ready. My wife was shaking even more by this time but PF David Dickson found the whole proceedings very pleasing as he was grinning like some sort of Cheshire cat all the time.

After Maggie Hughes left Sheriff Mciver said OK Mcleod you can do the arguments yourself as you don’t need an advocate to do it for you.

John Mcleod got up and spent about half an hour explaining to the biased Sheriff who referred to the case to the PF David Dickson as “Our Case” and referred to my wife and I as “fugitives”

After half an hour John Mcleod told the biased Sheriff Mciver that he would also have to leave if more time was not given.

Sheriff Mciver kept looking at the media and DEA agents like he had to please them and said to the court and John Mcleod that you realise leaving your clients without representation would mean certain Extradition if I continue to a full Extradition hearing today, Mcleod accepted this as fact.

Then Sheriff Mciver spent about one hour saying what might happen to us to finally say “If your clients would rather spend another 6 weeks in prison then I will grant 6 weeks more time”

So while arguments were going on in Parliament about 42 day detention we were in prison for 214 days without charge or a shred of evidence.

All I could think of was getting my wife out of prison to be with our four young girls, I told my solicitor John McLeod to do a deal with the US for me to go without a fight in order for my wife to be let free, my wife has always been a pawn in a game to the US government.

I got a message that if I agreed to go they would let my wife go, I agreed immediately but was terrified inside but I knew I would be at peace knowing my children had their mum.

The next thing I knew the US changed the rules and arrived at my wife’s prison asking her for a statement against me in order to get free, my wife got a special call to my prison to ask what was going on and I did not know but told her to sign anything that would get her out of prison.

My wife gave the statement they asked her for but when it did not incriminate me the deal was gone faster than it arrived.

I am going to update this information daily until finished.

Petition link

Email Adress of Alex Salmond to ask him to stop our Extradition.

FirstMinister@scotland.gsi.gov.uk