Fugitive Would Be Tortured In Thailand If Canada Extradites Him Says Lawyer

[george]

Fugitive would be tortured in Thailand if Canada extradites him says lawyer

VANCOUVER: -- Fugitive banker Rakesh Saxena could be killed or at least tossed in a prison cell and locked in leg irons if Canada surrenders him to Thailand to face allegations that he embezzled millions of dollars, a lawyer told the B.C. Appeal Court on Monday.

Russ Chamberlain argued that Saxena would be tortured in Thailand, a country where human rights abuses are so shocking that prisoners are routinely beaten, shocked with cattle prods and placed in metal cages. "To be electrocuted in the genital area would shock the conscience of any fair-minded person, in my respectful submission," Chamberlain told a panel of three judges.

He also said his client would be discriminated against in Thailand as an Indian foreigner.

"There is some evidence that Indians are on the lowest scale of people who live in Thailand," Chamberlain said.

But a lawyer for the Justice Department said outside court that there's no corroborative evidence that Saxena would be tortured if returned to Thailand.

Saxena, now in his early 50s, has been fighting to stay in Canada since 1996 when he was arrested at a luxury hotel in Whistler.

The Canadian government ordered him to surrender to Thailand three years ago after a B.C. Supreme Court judge decided there was enough evidence against him to go to trial in that country.

Saxena has been charged in Thailand with embezzling $88 million from the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, which led to a 1996 run on deposits, causing its collapse.

Chamberlain cited several reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to argue that despite Thailand's Constitution, torture is still prevalent.

He told the court that Saxena would have a difficult time if returned there because people believe the banker single-handedly brought down the country's economy.

"There is a risk that Saxena will be extraditionally killed," Chamberlain said.

Reading from an affidavit, he said people would rather see Saxena dead than testify against them in court.

Saxena has maintained that he is being made the fall guy by executives of the bank related to the Thai royal family and by financial regulators embarrassed by the scandal.

Chamberlain said he's not buying assurances the Canadian government has received from Thai officials that his client would be given preferential treatment because of his high profile.

In a letter to Ottawa, Thailand has assured that every reasonable effort would be made to ensure Saxena is allowed communication with lawyers and visits by officials at any time.

But Chamberlain said the letter isn't even signed.

"How can you accept assurances of a torturer?" he asked the judges.

"Put yourselves in the position of Mr. Saxena, locked in leg irons in a small cell in Thailand with this document to protect him.

"In my respectful submission it is of little comfort to have these assurances."

Saxena was charged under the Thai Penal Code, which has now been barred under a statute, although charges under the Securities and Exchange Act won't fall under a statute of limitations until 2010.

Outside court, Chamberlain said his client can no longer be prosecuted by the Thai government because of the statute of limitations that came into effect in June 2005.

He also said there are no facts to support allegations against Saxena under the Securities and Exchange Act, which can't be a basis of prosecution because his client wasn't a securities broker.

But Justice Department lawyer Deborah Strachan said outside court that the Canadian government is relying on assertions by Thailand that the charges under the Securities and Exchange Act are justified.

"The question for the courts here is whether the allegations amount to criminal conduct in Canada and the extradition judge found that they would amount to fraud and/or theft in Canada," Strachan said.

She also said the Canadian government has reviewed volumes of human rights reports submitted by Chamberlain.

"But the minister also reviewed a number of other things, including the new Constitution of Thailand and various other documents and came to the conclusion that while there have been human rights abuses that he was satisfied that Mr. Saxena himself would not be tortured."

Chamberlain said he'll take his case to the Supreme Court of Canada if the Appeal Court upholds the extradition judge's decision.

Amrit Sarup, Saxena's mother, said outside court that her son is holding up well.

"He just goes along with what's happening. What to do?" said Sarup, a former lecturer at the London School of Economics.

-- 680.news.com 2006-01-30