NI: Extradition case
01 November 1993
On 16 September, 1993 Gerard Power was arrested in Belfast and flown to London where he appeared at Bow Street court. German Government lawyers had applied for his extradition accusing him of the attempted murder of a British soldier in Germany in March 1980. Surprisingly he has just been granted bail. The soldier was shot by two people while jogging. He survived the attack and the day after provided a detailed statement describing his attackers, The first was "blond... in his early twenties... a short man about 5 ft 4 ins... I don't think I could recognise him again". His second attacker "was slightly taller... between 5 ft 6 ins and 5 ft 8 ins". The following month he was shown 22 photographs and he picked out two as the man who first shot him because of "the face and hair style". The photographs were allegedly of Gerard Power. Three weeks later the soldier made further statements and now claimed that his first attacker was about 5ft 8-9ins - the same height as Gerard Power. In 1980 Gerard Power had a major skin complaint which caused large, noticeable boils on his face. Yet at no point in any of his statements did the solider refer to these. When challenged about the extraordinary delay in making the accusation, the German lawyers claimed that Power had been in hiding. This was manifestly untrue. Every year he has registered his full name and address on the Northern Ireland electoral role. Moreover, in 1985 the RUC were able to find and arrest him, along with 26 others, when he was "fingered" by the supergrass Harry Kirkpatrick. Power was convicted but was subsequently released on appeal in November 1986.
Gerard Power did work in Germany between April and December 1979. But he returned home and claimed unemployment benefit from 17 December. He then returned to Germany in September 1980 to look for work. After two weeks his money ran out and he contacted the Irish Consulate in Hanover who sent him to the local social services. They helped him with expenses to enable him to return home where he then signed on again. These dates are confirmed by the DHSS.
Since his arrest he has repeatedly said that he would be willing to be interviewed by the RUC, British or German police to answer any questions concerning the allegation. But, to date, he has not been asked a single question. As he has pointed out, if he had been interviewed a few months after the shooting he would have been able to prove his presence in Belfast and hence his innocence. He was now finding it extremely difficult to provide independent proof of his whereabouts thirteen years ago.
Notwithstanding all these factors pointing towards his innocence, Power is in an impossible situation. Under the European Convention on Extradition a request for extradition no longer requires to be accompanied by sufficient supporting evidence to establish a prima facie case. Extradition is now allowed simply on the basis of a request, an arrest warrant or a statement of facts (see Statewatch, vol 3 no 5). After five appearances and repeated demands for his release on bail, he finally been granted bail. This is almost unheard of in extradition cases, particularly of the serious nature of this one, and gives hope to Power and those campaigning for him that this miscarriage of justice in the making will be stopped before it goes much further.
Britain and Ireland Human Rights Centre