They were not intervening in any legal preceding--he had been told he could go--they (embassy) just had to arrange the plane seat. After 6 years of prison visiting I have seen this a lot--UK takes the top prize for being the worse western country IMO , even when a sentence is completed , they allow the person to be transferred to the worst prison in Thailand (Suan Phlu) while they shuffle papers around. ---Ireland, would be one of the best, sometimes giving an allowance for their citizens to buy food and claiming them back immediately....Scandie countries are very close behind & do much the same.