Soccer fan fails in last-ditch move

England football fan Garry Mann was left "devastated" yesterday as he lost his final legal battle against extradition to Portugal, where he faces a two-year jail sentence.

The former Kent firefighter, 52, was convicted over a riot during the Euro 2004 tournament but says he did not receive a fair trial. Yesterday his lawyers attempted to launch a last-ditch High Court bid for judicial review – the latest in a long series of legal challenges to halt his removal to Portugal .

Edward Fitzgerald QC, appearing for Mann, argued there was new evidence from the Foreign Office to support Mann's case, and allowing extradition to proceed would violate his human rights. But Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Irwin ruled his application for judicial review "unarguable".

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Mr Mann said outside court he was "devastated" by the decision.

Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, which has backed Mann's battle, said: "It really is the end of the road."

Mr Russell said he expected Mann's removal to take place "within a matter of days – probably by the middle of next week".

Lord Justice Laws described it as "this troubling case".

Mann, a father of six from Faversham, said he had been the victim of a "witch-hunt".

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A Birmingham City supporter, he was drinking with friends in a bar in Albufeira when a riot involving football fans began in a nearby street.

Mann was arrested, tried and convicted within 48 hours.

His lawyers said he was only granted five minutes with a lawyer before trial, could not understand the proceedings and did not know what charge he faced until after his conviction.

Both judges and police officers have expressed concerns that he did not get a fair trial.

Mr Mann said: "I am just waiting now for the Portuguese to jump on a plane to come and pick me up. It could be a week or a couple of days."

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He said Fair Trials International (FTI) would be "fighting for some kind of transfer to serve my sentence in this country".

Asked how long he thought he would have to serve, he said: "We will see what happens in Portugal. We will try and get a transfer back. They have always wanted me to serve the sentence in the UK, but these transfers take a long time."

Mr Russell said: "Today's decision is a personal tragedy for Garry Mann and a damning indictment of Europe's fast-track extradition system.

"There is no justice in this man being torn from his home and family and sent to Portugal to serve a two-year sentence imposed after a grossly unfair trial. Fair Trials International will continue the fight for reform of European extradition laws to stop others suffering the same injustice."

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The European Court of Human Rights last month rejected his application to halt extradition while he mounts a legal challenge in that court.

Back in the UK, an emergency High Court injunction was obtained to block his removal and give him time to make yesterday's final legal challenge.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) has maintained throughout it has no power to halt extradition and opposed his application.