Honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani offered to return to SA voluntarily in a letter to the government.
|||London - Honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani offered to return voluntarily to South Africa to face trial in a letter to the South African government last month, it was revealed in court on Wednesday.
Dewani’s legal team said the offer was made in correspondence dated on April 8 but its contents were not revealed in open court.
A legal source afterwards said there was a list of conditions, one of which was for Dewani to stay in an unspecified private psychiatric unit in Cape Town until a possible trial into his suspected involvement in the murder of his new bride Anni in November 2010.
The defence source said the South African side had not responded to the offer.
Dewani did not attend the pre-extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London yesterday where his legal representative, Clare Montgomery, QC, also revealed that he had suffered a mental relapse. She said: “I’m afraid… Mr Dewani has had a bad reaction to pregabilin (anti-anxiety medication) so he has had to be taken off it. After a review of his condition he has been detained under the Mental Health Act for a further 12 months.”
Dewani, 33, is currently receiving treatment at a Bristol psychiatric unit for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder which have been previously described as “moderate”. The South African government wants him to return to Cape Town and face trial for the alleged involvement in the murder of his wife Anni, 28.
He denies anything to do with the honeymoon killing and has been fighting extradition ever since.
Montgomery told the court that she would like the defence team’s psychiatric expert to visit Valkenberg Hospital to assess its level of care in the event Dewani was sent back. She said she would also like the expert to visit Goodwood Prison but said South Africa had been reluctant to give permission.
Hugo Keith. QC, representing the South African authorities, said the defence team would be welcome to visit Valkenberg but said he would need to check about Goodwood.
He said the government had given numerous assurances that Dewani would be looked after and correctly assessed to see whether he needed psychiatric care upon his arrival in the country.
He outlined what would happen if a court ordered his return. “Mr Dewani would be accompanied by two detectives on the return trip and a mental health nurse. He would be taken to the High Court and placed in a single cell, charged and then brought before a High Court judge that day who would decide on custody or bail.” He said a decision would then be taken about where to place him but he would be given the appropriate psychiatric help whether at Valkenberg or Goodwood.
Keith added: “I can assure this court that the South African government is going to be tripping over its corporate toes to make sure Mr Dewani is well supervised.”
However, Montgomery said she was still concerned that a “fit and well” Dewani sent back might not receive the best treatment, especially if he was sent to Goodwood which she said only received one visit a month by a psychiatrist.
Despite her request to put back a full extradition case due in July to allow a visit, Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle said the defence team had enough time to assess the care and that the week-long hearing would go ahead.
Dewani’s extradition was ordered in August 2011 but his return was halted by the High Court in London in March 2012 on the grounds it would be “unjust and oppressive” to extradite him immediately on health grounds.
Pretoria News