Family and friends were visibly shocked in court on Wednesday when a British judge recommended that Shrien Dewani should be extradited to South Africa to stand trial as an accused in the murder of his wife Anni while they were on honeymoon in Cape Town last year.
A final decision will now have to be made by the British Home Secretary Theresa May and it is expected that the Dewani family will appeal the judgment if it goes against them, his brother Preyen Dewani told the Mail & Guardian before the court began.
Thirty-one year old Dewani's supporters occupied the press gallery above the court during the tense proceedings, while his former in-laws took up seats near the judge. The families did not greet each other when they passed in the corridors.
Wearing his trademark high-collar tracksuit top, Dewani sat behind glass, with two security guards on either side of him. All three sat motionless throughout the lengthy judgment reading, which gave no clear indication of which way it was going until the end.
After district court judge Howard Riddle had spent two hours reading his judgment in the Woolwich Crown Court in South-East London, he dropped the bombshell that he would recommend to the Home Secretary that Dewani should be extradited to South Africa. Riddle said that there was huge public interest in the case.
No comment from Shrien Dewani's family
A final decision will now have to be made by the British Home Secretary Theresa May and it is expected that the Dewani family will appeal the judgment if it goes against them, his brother Preyen Dewani told the Mail & Guardian before the court began.
Thirty-one year old Dewani's supporters occupied the press gallery above the court during the tense proceedings, while his former in-laws took up seats near the judge. The families did not greet each other when they passed in the corridors.
Wearing his trademark high-collar tracksuit top, Dewani sat behind glass, with two security guards on either side of him. All three sat motionless throughout the lengthy judgment reading, which gave no clear indication of which way it was going until the end.
After district court judge Howard Riddle had spent two hours reading his judgment in the Woolwich Crown Court in South-East London, he dropped the bombshell that he would recommend to the Home Secretary that Dewani should be extradited to South Africa. Riddle said that there was huge public interest in the case.
No comment from Shrien Dewani's family
Dewani's upset parents and family later slipped out of court without making any comment to the large media contingent waiting outside with cameras and recorders.
Anni Dewani's family welcomed the ruling, saying it was a step towards "closure".
"Nothing will bring Anni back, my beautiful, little, innocent sister who was killed. But getting this decision, today at least we will get somewhere," Anni's sister Ami Denborg said.
"I think she will not rest in peace until all this is over, and this is one step in the right direction for us."...read morehttp://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-10-dewani-family-reel-after-extradition-ruling
