India protests against Danish refusal to extradite Kim Davy

Mounting pressure on Copenhagen, India on Friday regretted Denmark's refusal to extradite Kim Davy, the 1995 Purulia arms drop accused, and protested that a court's judgment rejecting the extradition will amount to “encouraging terrorists and criminals.”

Mounting pressure on Copenhagen, India on Friday regretted Denmark's refusal to extradite Kim Davy, the 1995 Purulia arms drop accused, and protested that a court's judgment rejecting the extradition will amount to “encouraging terrorists and criminals.”

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"We have been greatly disappointed on being informed that the Danish authorities cannot comply with India’s request for the extradition of Neils Holck (Kim Davy) to India to stand trial for his role in the Purulia arms drop case,” Vishnu Prakash, the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, said in New Delhi.

"Government of Denmark had decided on April 9, 2010, to extradite Kim Davy to India but the Danish authorities failed to successfully defend their decision in the Danish courts and it is regrettable that they have decided not to appeal the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court,” the spokesperson said.

"In our view, the judgement has grave and far-reaching implications and can only serve as an encouragement to terrorists and criminals. We also completely reject the grounds cited by the Danish court as the basis for its decision,” he said.

Davy, 49, is wanted in India for dropping AK-47 rifles, anti-tank grenades, rocket launchers and over 25,000 rounds of ammunition over Purulia in West Bengal on the night of Dec 17, 1995.

According to well-placed sources, external affairs minister SM Krishna has written a letter to his Danish counterpart to express disappointment at the developments and made it clear that India will continue to insist on Davy's extradition.

The CBI is also considering other options to bring Davy to trial, including through video conferencing.

What has added to India's indignation is the Danish high court’s remarks about the human rights conditions in the country's jails as a ground for rejecting Davy's extradition.

Earlier this week, the external affairs ministry had summoned Denmark’s Charge d’Affaires and protested that the Danish court’s remarks on India’s human rights record and prison conditions were unacceptable. The ministry also voiced its disappointment over the court’s refusal to hand over Davy to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

On June 30, the Eastern high court in Copenhagen rejected the the Danish government’s plea to extradite Davy and refused to hand him over to the CBI. In its judgment, the court cited India’s failure to ratify the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and singled out alleged degrading treatment in jails and widespread human rights violations.