Shrien Dewani, an Indian-origin British businessman accused
of plotting the murder of his Indo-Swedish wife on their honeymoon in Cape
Town, will be extradited to South Africa on April 7, according to a media
report on Sunday.
Mr. Dewani, 33, from Bristol, is expected to leave London and
arrive in Cape Town on 8 April 8. He has been fighting a return to South Africa
to face the charges, which he denies, over the death of his wife Anni, 28, in
November 2010.
The extradition date was confirmed by South Africa’s
Department for Justice, the BBC reported. Mr. Dewani had lost his final appeal
against extradition at the start of March which triggered a 28-day period
during which he must be extradited.
Though, his legal team wanted the appeal to be heard in the the
Supreme Court, it was refused by a panel of judges.
The businessman is being compulsorily detained under the
Mental Health Act after being diagnosed as suffering from severe depression and
post-traumatic stress disorder.
In January, the High Court ruled it would not be “unjust and
oppressive” to extradite Mr. Dewani providing that assurances were received
from South Africa about the length of time he would be kept in the country
without trial. Those assurances have been given, the report said.
Prosecutors in South Africa allege Mr. Dewani ordered the
killing of his wife, who was a Swedish national. The charge dates back to
November 2010 when the pair were held at gunpoint while driving through
Gugulethu, a township near Cape Town, in a taxi. Mr. Dewani escaped unharmed
but his wife’s body was found the following day. Three men have been convicted
in the case.
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