Judge REFUSES to fast track Jack Shepherd’s extradition meaning killer will stay in Tbilisi prison for next few months – after his lawyer argues speedboat death is ‘not a crime’ in Georgia
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd 31 pictured today at a court hearing in Tbilisi Georgia
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd Shepherd will stay in jail in Georgia for the next few months after a judge today refused to fast track his extradition.
The decision at an emergency hearing at Tbilisi Central Court came after the killer insisted he did not want to be extradited over fears for his safety in a UK prison, telling the judge: ‘I wish to decline.’
Prosecutors had been pushing for Shepherd to be extradited quickly to Britain, but it now appears the process could drag on for another few months.
Shepherd’s appearance today comes after his lawyer claimed the death on the River Thames is not a crime in Georgia as she vowed to fight his extradition.
The 31-year-old killer, who was convicted of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown in the UK last July, would also prefer to serve his sentence in Tbilisi, she said.
Mariam Kublashvili said the charge he was convicted of after the speedboat flipped near Wandsworth Bridge in 2015 does not apply under Georgian law.
Shepherd sits behind his lawyer Mariam Kublashvili (left) at Tbilisi Central Court this afternoon
