Convicted killer battles Taiwan extradition

Dean's lawyers claim Taiwanese prisoners are kept in "inhumane and degrading" conditions

Appeal judges will hear evidence about Taiwanese prisons before deciding whether to allow the first extradition from Scotland to the country.

Lawyers acting for Zain Dean, 43, will address the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in September about the state of jails in the Far Eastern country.

Dean, of Edinburgh, killed a man in Taipei in a hit and run collision whilst driving drunk in 2010.

He was jailed for four years in Taiwan but managed to flee the country.

His representatives will argue the businessman's human rights would be violated if the Scottish court were to order his return to the island state.

In August 2012, Dean jumped bail and travelled to Scotland using a friend's passport, claiming that he had not received a fair trial. He also alleged that he was framed by corrupt police officers.

'Degrading conditions'

Two people were later arrested and jailed for helping him escape the country.

His lawyers claim that inmates in Taiwanese jails are subjected to inhumane and degrading conditions and argue it would be illegal to force Dean to serve time there.

On Wednesday, judges Lady Paton, Lord Drummond Young and Lady Clark of Calton fixed a hearing to take place in September.

The hearing is the latest development in a story which began with Dean being arrested in Scotland in October 2013.

Scottish prosecutors originally instigated proceedings to have Dean extradited to Taiwan.

The Crown Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff had to enter into negotiations with the Taiwanese government as Scotland and Taiwan did not have an extradition treaty.