Sheriff to deliver ruling on Nicholas Rossi extradition bid
- Published
Nicholas Rossi has been fighting extradition to the US over rape allegations
A sheriff will rule next week whether fugitive Nicholas Rossi should be extradited to the United States.
Final submissions in the long-running case have been heard at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
US officials want to extradite Mr Rossi - who claims to be a man called Arthur Knight - to face charges in Utah.
His lawyer urged the court to refuse extradition or adjourn proceedings to allow fuller investigation of his mental health.
But the advocate depute said there was no evidence Mr Rossi suffered from any significant physical or mental illness and suggested the sheriff could not rely on anything he said.
Mr Rossi was arrested and detained, while he was being treated for Covid at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, in December 2021, in connection with an alleged rape in Utah.
It was alleged that he faked his own death in 2020 and fled from the US to the UK to evade prosecution.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday Mr Rossi's lawyer argued that extradition would be a "flagrant violation" of his client's human rights.
Mungo Bovey KC summed up his arguments shortly after an adjournment had to be called during proceedings when Mr Rossi announced he wanted to dismiss him.
His interruption came as Mr Bovey argued that Mr Rossi had never been proven to be a US national citizen.
Nicholas Rossi's lawyers are opposing his extradition to the US
Mr Bovey raised several issues he argued would breach Mr Rossi's rights if he were to be extradited, including making it more difficult for him to engage with lawyers and the condition of prisons.
He said prisons in the state of Utah were short-staffed, offered "poor" medical care and had twice the average rate of deaths by suicide.
The lawyer also pointed out an executive board and not a judicial one would decide Mr Rossi's sentence, should he be convicted of rape in the US, and this could be considered another breach.
Earlier Mr Rossi twice said that he wanted to "dismiss counsel" which drew a warning from the sheriff.
He told Mr Rossi: "If you are disruptive I will have you removed from court."
The hearing continued following the brief adjournment with no further mention of Mr Rossi's demands.
Sheriff McFadyen told the court he would announce his ruling on Wednesday.